Dad's Deed
by Delusional Potato
Summary: Screwball falls critically ill to a dangerous disease. The only cure is miles and miles away, forcing Discord to go on a dangerous quest to save his only child. But with changelings, monsters, and rough terrain all in his way, can he save his daughter in time? K plus for mild violence in later chapters.
1. Bedtime Blues

**Herro pony fans far and wide! Well anyways, I told myself I wasn't going to write a fanfic based on the popular "Daddy Discord" head cannon, but I couldn't resist! I also owe a little bit of my inspiration for this idea to the BBC television series Merlin; an episode from said series inspired me to write this. Anyways, constructive criticism is always welcome. Enjoy!**

**Oh, and another thing; I'm still working on My Little Mystery Dungeon, I've just decided to take a small break from it.**

* * *

"A strange strategy you have."

"Thank you, Master Yoda."

"Shut up."

"You shut up."

Luna pushed a Rook foward three spaces, "YOU shut up."

In return, Discord used his Knight to capture Luna's Rook, "Correction, my dear. Shut up, you will."

The Night Princess and the Chaos Spirit were busy playing chess in Celestia's bedroom. Ever since Discord claimed he was "reformed", the two always played chess on Saturday nights when Celestia was away visiting other parts of the kingdom. It was often very entertaining to watch them battle it out in a usually boring thought game.

"How dare thee capture our castle with thy horse!" Luna yelled, sounding as though she was about to switch over to her Royal Canterlot voice.

"Woona, wet me tell you dis one more time," Discord said, using baby talk, "Dee castle is called a Wook, while dee horsey is called a Knight. Otay?"

"Do not talk to us like a child..." Growled Luna, "We art nearly twenty thousand years old!"

"I'm forty-nine thousand, nine hundred and ninety nine and a half. Invalid, your arguement is."

"Refrain from talking like that!"

"Not, I will."

Luna stopped talking with the Draconequus and turned her attention back to the chess board. She had only managed to capture four of Discord's pawns, both of his bishops, and one of his knights. His queen was getting dangerously close to her king, but she wasn't in checkmate yet.

"Your turn, it is."

Luna was getting seriously frustrated. Without thinking, she put her king into a bad position, right into the path of Discord's queen. A wicked smile crossed the Draconequues' face as he moved his queen to Luna's king and knocked it off the board.

"Checkmate, Luna dear."

Luna slammed her hooves against the table, "THOU HAST CHEATED! THOU DISTRACTED US FROM THE GAME!"

Discord only flinched a little before the troll-like smile returned to his face, "Clueless Luna. I know my beauty is distracting, but you shouldn't hate me for it."

"THOU WILL ZIP THY LOUD MOUTH OF RUDENESS!"

"All the better to annoy you with, my dear!"

Luna scowled. She shook her head quickly, "No. No! We will not fall into your trap of annoyance!" She stood up promptly, glaring muderously at Discord, "We leave you now, before we blast you to stone again!"

"Blast me to stone, you will not," Discord replied, his smirk growing even wider, "Fluttershy, kind she is. Turn me to stone, she will not let you do."

Luna was about to snap, so she did the mature thing and turned tail, trotting elegantly away from the Draconequus.

"Boom shakalaka!" Cheered Discord as he jumped on the large, fluffy bed shaped like a sun, "I get Dullestia's bed! I'm totally sleeping good tonight!"

Luna ignored him, trotting out of the room. She wished she could hit him in the face with a very large mallet, but she had to stay mature. Celestia put her in charge of watching over the kingdom and she couldn't fight with the immature fool that was Discord.

Luna continued to quietly walk down the hall. She gazed at the night sky, taking pride of the constellations she had all made by herself, no help from big sis. She was so engrossed by it, she nearly had a heartattack when her front leg ran into something. She looked down, discovering something she wasn't expecting.

Sitting at her hooves was a pinkish-purple filly around eight or nine years old. Her mane was a wild, unruly mess of purple and white streaks with a little orange and yellow propeller cap hidden in the tangles. Her eyes were something that Luna had never seen before in a normal pony. They were purple with no pupils, just endless, hypnotic swirls that the Night Princess found difficult to look away from.

"Oh, I'm sorry Princess Luna," Said the little filly timidly, "I-I... I didn't mean to get in your way... I'll just... Just..."

"No need to be afraid, my child," Luna assured with a kind smile, "I don't believe I've seen you before. Are you lost?"

"No. I'm just looking for my daddy." The filly replied, seeming scared of the Princess.

Luna gave a puzzled look. Maybe she was a daughter of one of the guards. Even then, she had never seen this filly before and she knew pretty much everyone who lived in her kingdom.

"May I ask, what is your name?" Questioned the Princess. Maybe her name would ring a bell.

"I'm Screwball." Said the filly. She attempted to get around Luna, but the Alicorn stepped in her way.

"Who is your father?" She asked.

"Why are you asking so many questions, stalker?" Growled Screwball, looking quite ferocious even though she was so tiny.

"I only wish to know."

"He's Discord. Now please move!" Screwball pushed past Luna, turning into Celestia's bedroom where Luna had just come from.

The Princess wasn't sure if she heard that right. Since when did Discord have a kid? Since when did he _like_ kids? Maybe the filly was lying, or delusional, Luna could never be too sure. But seeing those weird, swirly eyes; eyes that no normal pony could have... Luna was curious as to whether or not Screwball was indeed Discord's child.

The Alicorn followed the purple filly down the hall, coming back into her sister's bedroom. Discord was still sitting on the bed, but Screwball had climbed up next to him. She scowled a little when the Princess walked in.

"Ah, Luna!" Spoke Discord, "I see you've met my daughter. She was just telling me about her meeting with you in the hall."

"So... She is indeed your child?" Luna clarified.

Discord paused, biting his lower lip, "Well... Technically, no. She wasn't born from the birds and the bees as most ponies are, for she never had a mother. She was born from my magic, to be exact."

"Daddy, I can't be born from birds and bees!" Screwball objected, "That's silly! If I was born from birds and bees, I would be a bird with yellow and black stripes!"

Discord chuckled under his breath, though Luna was trying to hide her rude snickers.

"Thaaaaaat's... Not exactly what I meant." Said the spirit. He turned back to Luna, "But anyways, when I first took over Equestria, I went crazy, making every possible looney and nonsensical thing my irrational mind could think of. I guess I didn't realize how powerful my magic was and accidentally made a new life."

"When you first took over Equestria?" Asked Luna, a puzzled frown winding its way onto her face, "Are you telling me... She's nearly one thousand years old?"

"She's immortal, since she was created from magic alone," Explained Discord, "And you should know, _Alicorn_ Princess. A thousand years is really only ten in an immortal's time."

"So... You just claimed her as your child?"

Discord snatched up the little filly in a hug, causing her to laugh in an insanely cute way, "I did indeed! How could you possibly say no to her precious little face?"

Luna didn't say anything, but mentally she agreed.

"Oh, Screwball, why don't you go play for a little while?" Suggested Discord, setting Screwball down on the floor, "I need to talk to Auntie Luna real fast."

"Okay!" Replied the filly. She trotted out the door, but not before glaring murderously at Luna. The Princess couldn't understand why Screwball kept giving her those mean looks.

"Luna, I need to talk to you about something," Discord said, his tone suddenly becoming serious, "Concerning my daughter, you, and Celestia."

Luna sat on the bed next to Discord, "What is it?"

The spirit paused, "Ah... Well... I don't really know how to say this... Except that Screwball hates you."

Luna didn't seem shocked. Screwball did indeed seem to send her signals of resentment.

"And Celestia," He paused, "Poor Screwy's terrified of her. She only came to the castle because Celestia was gone."

"Why so?"

"Because of what you two did to me," Explained Discord, "She saw when you first turned me into stone and it scarred her for life. She also lost me for a thousand years because of you. Like I mentioned before, she has no other family but me."

Guilt suddenly stormed through Luna. Realizing that she had taken an innocent little girl's father weighed heavily on her heart.

"Screwball still refused to leave me," Discord continued, idly playing with the bed sheets, "She sat by my statue for a thousand years, only leaving for food and bathroom purposes."

"What did she do for all that time?" Luna asked, just curious as to how the little filly kept herself entertained for nearly a millennia.

"Well, she cried; a lot. She'd clean up my statue and the other statues around. She'd sometimes talk to me, even though I couldn't reply back. Oh, and believe it or not, but she loved to write and sing songs, mostly for me. Most of the time she spent crying, or telling me how much she wanted me to come back." He suddenly looked solemn, "Not my greatest millennia, I'll tell you that. Not her greatest either."

"That's horrible," Cried Luna, "I... I really don't know what to say..."

"You don't have to say anything," Reassured Discord, "I realize you had no choice but to turn me into stone. I was a huge jerk back then, and it was my fault for causing Screwball all that misery. It would have never happened if I hadn't snapped and went crazy."

Luna wanted to scream:_ "You still are a jerk!"_, but Discord seemed emotionally fragile at the moment, so she held her tongue.

"All I'm asking is that you please try not to scare my child," He said with a truly honest twinkle in his eyes, "She adopted my personality as a troublemaker and will probably get on your nerves. But she is emotionally scarred enough, and I would like to teach her not to hate you."

Luna didn't sense that this was some sort of trick to catch her off guard, so she nodded.

"I will. And I will tell my sister that as well when she returns."

"Good!" The spirit cheered, a smile appearing on his face, "Now, excuse me while I go put the child in question to bed." He got off the bed, trotting towards the room's exit.

"Would you like me to help?" Luna asked, "I mean, maybe if I bond with Screwball, she'll see me and my sister in a different light."

Discord paused for consideration, "Ah, why not? I always need help with putting Screwy to bed. She can be a hyper little rascal sometimes!"

Luna suddenly wished that she hadn't said anything. Discord exited the room with the Princess close behind. Screwball was just a little ways down the hall, playing with a serious-faced guard who refused to acknowledge her.

"Screwball!" Called the spirit, "It's time for bed!"

Immediately, Screwball's happy smile fell. She stared at her father sadly before she took off running in the other direction.

"Oh no wait wait wait!" Discord cried. He stomped in frustration, "Oh, not again..."

"We can catch her together," Luna suggested, "She doesn't stand a chance against two immortals, does she now?"

"It takes me about five minutes to catch her and put her to bed." Explained Discord. He silently figured the up numbers by counting on his lion fingers, "With you helping me, it should take less than two minutes!"

"Let's stop thinking what should happen and let's catch her!"

The two went after the purple filly, who had just turned the corner of the hall.

"I will cut her off," Luna suggested, "She'll be trapped between you and me."

"For the first time ever, you've actually had a good idea." Discord replied, obviously trying to get under Luna's skin again. She ignored him, teleporting herself to the hall which Screwball had turned onto. She ended up right in front of the fleeing filly, stopping her dead in her tracks.

"Go to thy father!" Commanded Luna, "Thou hast been naughty!"

In a way, Screwball did obey. She attempted to backtrack, trying to get away from Luna, but she ended up running right into the clutches of her father. He snatched her up against her will, holding her tight so she couldn't wiggle out and escape.

"Gotcha, you little scamper!" The spirit cheered, "Thought you could outsmart your ol' daddy and Auntie Luna, hmm? Well, now you're going to bed, whether you like it or not."

Screwball sighed sadly, "Okay daddy. You win."

"Of course I do!" Discord replied. He tickled the filly's tummy, causing her to giggle, "Now, let's get you to bed so your daddy can sleep, how about it?"

Screwball chortled, "Okay!"

Discord glanced at Luna, "Would you like to come? Perhaps you can help me tell her a bedtime story or something."

"I'm fine, thank you." Replied Luna with a smile, "I... Must watch over the night and see to the ponies' dreams to make sure no Nightmares are around."

"Suit yourself." He said with a shrug of indifference. He turned and strolled away, saying to the filly in his arms, "It's time for your trip to dreamland, my little one!"

Luna started to trot aimlessly around the castle, like she always did at night. She acknowledged the night guards respectfully, feeling tired and worn out.

_Maybe I can just lie down for a moment, then I'll return to my duties, _She thought to herself.

She backtracked, making her way towards her room. On the way, she passed the guest bedroom (which had originally been Discord's room), but she stopped abruptedly and peeked into the room. Apparently, Screwball had chosen this as her room, for Discord had taken her into it and laid her down upon the bed. The Draconequus was busy pulling the blankets up on the filly and tucking her in.

"As snug as a bug in a rug!" The spirit joked. He kneeled down next to the bedside, a stack of books suddenly appearing beside him, "Now tell me, my dearest. What story would you like me to read to you tonight?"

"What about the one with the Two Boring Princesses and the Very Handsome King?" Screwball suggested.

"Ah! One of my favorites." Discord made all the books disappear, leaving only one. He picked it up, turning to the first page. Luna scrunched her nose, noticing that the two princesses on the cover of the book looked very similar to her and her sister.

"Once upon a time," Began Discord, "There were two very boring princesses. The first one, Princess Trollestia was more boring than the other because she was older, and had more experience with being boring. The second one, Princess Lumad wasn't as bad, but she was still pretty boring. Not to mention, she liked to shout at the top of her voice for no paticular reason."

Screwball seemed very interested in the story. Luna was interested because it sounded as though Discord was making fun of her and she wanted to see what he had to say.

"One day, however, Trollestia and Lumad got angry, because they were pointlessly fighting over a piece of cake. Lumad got so angry that she suddenly turned into a giant, evil cow, who was named Princess Umad."

Luna expected for the story to take a random turn. Discord was, after all, more random than any other pony in Equestria.

Screwball giggled, "I like when Lumad turns into Umad the evil cow! It's always funny!"

"Anyways, Umad cursed the land to eat butterflies and poop rainbows for the rest of their lives," Continued Discord, now reading the book upside down, "Of course, super-dull Trollestia couldn't allow something as interesting as that to happen. So she turned Umad into a cake and promptly ate her."

Luna was unamused.

"Luckily, however, a very very handsome, and when I say handsome, I mean _really_ handsome king from a nearby land saved the ponies from Trollestia's tyranny. His name was King Cordis, ruler of handsomeness."

Luna rolled her eyes.

"He turned Trollestia into an ugly piece of pie and ate her, even though she tasted like dirty socks. The ponies hailed King Cordis as their new ruler, as he spread the happiness of randomness through the land of Bestria. Then, Nicholas Hayge exploded, and everything was happy. The end."

Screwball clapped her little hooves, giggling with childish delight, "King Cordis is a lot like you, daddy! He doesn't like boring princesses and he's really handsome, just like you!"

"Ah...You wouldn't believe how much we do have in common."

Luna in the meantime was still trying to figure out the exploding Nicholas Hayge thing. She continued to watch as Discord put the book away.

"Now, it's time for you to sleep." Said the spirit. He leaned down, pushing Screwball's mane aside as he kissed her on the forehead, "Sweet dreams, my little one. I'll be in the room just nextdoor if you need me."

"Okay," The filly yawned, her eyelids growing visibly heavier, "Goodnight daddy."

Luna quickly teleported herself to her own room so Discord wouldn't suspect that she had been eavesdropping on them. She pretended to be asleep when he passed by her room, then quickly sat back up again.

Luna had a hard time believing that Discord could be so kind. He wasn't his usual, jocular, senseless self when he was with Screwball. He was much more responsible, and surprisingly, very fatherly. It seemed as though he truly _did_ love Screwball, which surprised Luna even more, since he practically hated everyone. The Princess couldn't be too sure. The spirit could have just been putting on an act to make himself look better. But then again, Screwball seemed to think the world of the Draconequus, and she wouldn't do so if he neglected her.

Luna scolded herself not to judge so quickly. She had only seen the two together and how they acted for a little bit of time. She decided not to worry about it, but to continue to see if Discord truly _was_ worthy of having a child in his custody.

_Maybe he was, maybe he wasn't._

With the thoughts racing through her head, Luna jumped out of bed, perched on the window seal, spread her wings, and took flight into the night, humming quietly under her breath as she did.


	2. Under the Weather

As dawn broke over the horizon, Luna had returned to her bedroom, tired from a hard night's work. She knew that today, her sister would return from her journeys; and she, in the meantime, could take a well-deserved nap. Stretching her tired wings, Luna hopped onto her bed, feeling the coolness of the sheets. She looked out the door of her room, fixing her eyes outside of the window in the hall, where the sun was just beginning to rise. She enjoyed her sister's day, almost as much as her nighttime.

Luna caught a glance of Discord passing by her bedroom door, almost too quick for her to register. She wondered why he was in such a hurry on such a peaceful morning.

_Perhaps to wake his daughter, _She suggested to herself, _I know when I was a child, my parents refused to let me sleep._

Just nextdoor in Screwball's bedroom, Discord was walking into the room, a happy smile on his face. He loudly knocked on the wall, then teleported over to the sleeping filly's bedside.

"Good morning, my sunshine!" He greeted, nudging Screwball awake, "It's time to get up! It's the Princess' beautiful morning that deserves to be messed up with a pie in her face!"

Screwball weakly moaned, slowly turning over to face her father. His smile dropped when he realized that she didn't look like her usual, spunky, silly self.

"What's wrong, my dear?" The spirit asked, becoming much more concerned, "Are you unwell?"

"I think so," The filly croaked, her voice raspy and weak, "I feel really sick, daddy."

A smile crossed the draconequus' face, "Well, no need to worry. You'll be back to one hundred percent in just a moment! Common colds are no match for my magical talent."

Immediately, the spirit put his claw hand to Screwball's forehead. He focused all his energy, putting it all into a single healing spell, but it seemed to not be taking effect on the sick filly. He withdrew his claw, suddenly becoming worried. He attempted the spell again, this time, putting in so much power that his vision became blurry. He was forced to stop when the filly yelped in pain, signaling that he had put in too much power. Panicking, Discord started to pace the floor. Screwball manged to sit up, coughing as she did.

"Am I okay, daddy?" She asked in a tiny voice.

The spirit bit at his claws out of nervousness. He put on a fake, but reassuring smile, immediately calming the slightly scared filly.

"Of course you are!" He lied, patting Screwball on the head, "Why wouldn't you be okay? You're perfectly fine!"

"I'm not okay, am I?" She asked.

Discord's fake smile fell, "I just... It's just that... I don't understand! Every single sickness and injury you've had I've manage to heal with ease! Whether it be the stomach flu or gingivitis, I can always always _always_ heal it! But this... It just doesn't make sense! And I'm the king of not-making-sense!"

Screwball only replied with violent coughing. Discord noticed how pale her face was, and how dull her swirly eyes were.

"I need help..." He concluded. The spirit suddenly flashed out of the room, teleporting to the room nextdoor. The Princess of the Night was asleep on her bed, but Discord didn't care and ended up screaming right in her ear.

"LUUUUUUUNA!" Luna jumped about five feet into the air, falling off her bed with a loud THUD. She sat up, glaring daggers at the draconequus.

"Was that really necessary?" She questioned, fixing her long, flowing mane.

"Yes it was!" Cried Discord, grabbing Luna by her two front hooves and dragging her out of the room, "Quick! There's something terribly wrong with my darling daughter!"

"Well perhaps I can get there faster if you let me walk on my own." Growled Luna, yanking her hooves away from Discord's unnaturally tight grasp. Reluctantly, she followed Discord to the room nextdoor. She realized something was indeed wrong, for the filly she had seen yesterday looked horribly ill, laying weakly in her bed, appearing nothing like she was the night before.

"I attempted to heal her," Discord began to explain, floating over to Screwball's bedside, "But nothing happened. This isn't just a normal cold, Luna, for I would be able to heal it with ease. I can sense this is something more deadly."

Luna could sense it too. Screwball radiated a sickly aura, one the Princess found disturbing.

"Luna, please tell me you can help in some way." Begged Discord, calming the afraid filly by running his eagle claws through her frizzy mane.

"I apologize, Discord," Replied Luna solemnly, "I know precious little about sicknesses and diseases, and even less of their cures."

A shadow crossed the spirit's face; an emotion that Luna had never seen him make. He continued to absentmindedly caress Screwball's mane.

"But," Luna added, "I do know of somepony who can help."

"You do?" Asked Discord, suddenly perking up, "Who?"

"Follow me," The Princess answered, "Take Screwball with you. I'm sure the pony I have in mind can help."

* * *

"So let me get this straight..." Said Princess Twilight Sparkle, "You have a kid that you created with your own magic?"

Discord nodded, holding the child in question in his arms. Luna stood beside him, anxiously messing with her necklace.

"And she's sick, and you have no idea what the sickness is?" Twilight concluded.

"No clue." Replied Discord. He looked down at the filly in his arms, who had gone back to sleep, "All I know is that she's pale, cold, seems to be having trouble breathing, and I can't heal her with my own magic."

Twilight rubbed her chin, deep in thought. She glanced back at all the books of the Canterlot palace library behind her.

"Maybe I can find a book about it!" The purple Alicorn said thoughtfully, "Hold on, I'll be right back!" She dashed off into the depths of library, rummaging through the piles of books. Discord and Luna stood there awkwardly, waiting for the new princess to find the book.

About five minutes had passed before Twilight finally called out, "Found it!" She dashed back up to the front. She approached the two with a thick green book encased in her magical magenta aura.

"This is a book all about diseases that can't be cured with powerful magic," Explained Twilight, "What were the symptoms you noticed?"

"Coughing, fever, coldness, heavy breathing, paleness," Discord paused, glancing down at the filly again, "And apparently sleepiness as well."

Twilight flipped through the book, coming to a stop on one of the pages. She gasped quietly, her eyes dilating in fear.

"What? What is it, Twilight?" Asked Luna anxiously.

"The only thing that comes close to Discord's description is this," Twilight held up the book for the two to see, "It's called the Red Death. Very few cases of it have been recorded since the last time it broke out among Ponyvillians, which was a few thousand years ago. It's origin states that it was originally supposed to be a cure for the common cold made by the pegasi, but the experiments went wrong, turning it into a disease capable of killing even immortals in a few weeks. It was highly infectious back then, but now it has been toned down to where it will only stay to one pony."

"What does the disease do?" Luna questioned, becoming curious of the disease.

"Scientists discovered that it was a disease mainly inherited from fleas on rats. The disease would get into the bloodstream, very slowly constricting red blood cells until they exploded, causing many of the symptoms similar to pneumonia, such as trouble breathing, violent coughing, chills, weakness and tiredness. The only way to tell the two apart is that the Red Death causes severe paleness from the loss of blood, while pneumonia does not."

"Do you really think that's what Screwball has?" Discord asked, silently praying that it was not so.

Twilight nodded, "I'm ninety percent sure. Ten percent of me thinks that it could be a violent case of pneumonia, but she does look awfully pale."

"Well cut the science-y stuff! What's the cure?"

Twilight flipped through the pages again, "According to this, the only cure is the Phoenix Flower, located in the volcano Mount Cinder in the Crystal Mountain Range. Eating one of the flower's petals destroys the disease entirely."

"Of course..." Complained Discord, "Let me guess... I'll have to go on an incredibly hard and clichéd journey in order to find this stupid plant?"

"Do you want to save your only child or not?" Twilight rebutted.

Discord hesitated, "Yes. Of course I do. I don't want my only daughter to die."

"Then you have to find the Phoenix Flower. I really don't know what else to tell you."

Discord looked away from Twilight. He slowly but surely turned and left the room, feeling like the world had suddenly come crashing in on him.

"Thank you Twilight." Luna said before she left with Discord. She flanked him, feeling his deep remorse and sadness, "Discord, if you plan to go on this quest, you should probably go talk to my sister first. She can probably help you with it."

"I don't even know what I should do, Luna," The spirit said, "I've never been so... Afraid and confused before."

"But you're a spirit of confusion." Luna stated blankly.

"That doesn't mean I'm not confused sometimes!" Discord snapped. He paused, taking a deep breath before looking back down at Screwball, "Luna, I truly am scared. I want to go find this stupid plant, but I have no idea how to get there, nor can I guarantee if Screwball will still be alive when I return."

"Discord, I believe you should do this," Luna encouraged, "I know Screwball means more to you than anything. I fear that if you lose her, we may lose your bright and playful personality as well." The princess glanced over her shoulder, "Don't tell my sister this, but I've always found the castle boring and dull without your presence here."

Discord smiled a little too darkly, "Thank you, Luna. You don't know how much that means to me."

Immediately, Luna was hit in the back of the head with something squishy. Apparently, it was cherry pie, which had attacked her from out of nowhere.

"Now is not the time for jokes, Discord," Growled Luna, making the pie disappear, "My sister should be home by now. She will help you with your quest."

"How is she going to help?" Rebutted Discord, "All she does is sit around in her throne room all day, eating cake and banishing ponies to the moon!"

"Do not speak of my sister that way!" Luna argued, poking Discord in the chest, "She knows much about the land of Equestria, and she knows the location of Mount Cinder! She can help you more than you realize!"

Discord flinched slightly. He sighed in defeat, realizing that Luna was right.

"Fine," He growled, "But you may need to come and back me up. If I know Celestia, she's going to think this is one of my tricks."

Luna nodded, "Very well. Let us go and greet my sister."

* * *

Luna and Discord met Celestia as she came into the gate. Discord explained his situation and how he needed to get to Mount Cinder as the three entered the throne room.

"You must be in dire straits, Discord," Said Celestia seriously, "I can't remember the last time you came to me for help," She looked at the little filly, still laying in her father's arms, "Is this Screwball?"

"No, I'm carrying around some other pony's random filly," Remarked Discord with sarcasm, "Of course it's Screwball. But is this really the Red Death?"

Celestia ignored his sarcasm and looked over the filly, "I'm afraid so. As Twilight has probably already told you, the Phoenix Flower is the only cure for this disease. Mount Cinder is the only place it grows, and it is a horribly long journey."

"Don't remind me."

"Not if you teleport."

Discord sneered, "You think if I could do that, I would've already done it? Jeez Celestia, that's probably the dumbest remark you've ever made. I can't teleport to a place I've never been, and you should know, since you're so keen on magic."

"Excuse me Discord, I was simply making a suggestion. I have forgotten that it can't be done."

"Forget that. Do you have a map or something to Cinder?"

Celestia nodded before she pulled out a piece of rolled-up paper and gave it to Discord, "This will show the fastest way to get to Mount Cinder. Careful though. The woods in that part are very dangerous, for the Changeling Hive is located there. I suggest staying as far away as you can from it."

"Noted." Replied Discord. He started to turn and walk away.

"Wait, Discord." Celestia called, forcing the draconequus to turn back towards her.

"Yeah yeah I'll be careful," He groaned, "I'm not an idiot, 'Tia."

"No, I want to give you something." The white Alicorn replied. She levitated a small box, containing little jars of blue liquid, "This is medicine. It won't completely destroy the Red Death, but it should at least slow down the effects of the disease. It needs to be enchanted with your magic, though, or else it will have no effects. Give it to Screwball every night before she goes to bed and it should help her sleep without interruptions from coughing."

"Are you suggesting I should take Screwball with me?" Asked Discord, raising a skeptical eyebrow at the princess.

"There's no guarantee if you will return fast enough to get the flower to her," Celestia pointed out, "And besides, I doubt she would want to stay here with me. She hates me, does she not?"

"I won't lie, she wants you dead."

"That's understandable," Accepted Celestia, which surprised both Luna and Discord for her being perfectly fine with someone wanting her dead, "I wish you good luck, Discord. Perhaps you should bring a friend or two to accompany you."

Discord scratched his chin, "Well, in that case, I've already got two ponies in mind. The first one is already standing in the room." He glanced at Luna with a smile on his face.

"Me?" She asked, looking rather shocked.

"You've been surprisingly helpful already, Luna," Commented Discord, "You would be a big help if we ever did run into those cheeselegged changelings."

Luna gazed at her sister, as if asking for approval.

"Discord, you do realize that my sister is a ruler, correct?" Asked a skeptical Celestia, "She must assist me in ruling afte-"

"Oh, don't give me that junk, Celestia," Discord groaned, pointing accusingly at the princess, "While Luna was 'craterfaced moonhorse', you ruled the kingdom for a thousand years, all by yourself. You can deal without her for a few days. And besides, she can still raise the moon even when she's gone."

Celestia didn't really have an arguement, so she simply nodded, "I suppose you are correct. But it is my sister's decision whether she wishes to go or not."

"I'll go," Luna interrupted, "I'm sure Discord needs me. After all, he's known for getting lost."

"Not true..." Muttered Discord.

Celestia looked slightly surprised, but she reluctantly nodded again, "If that is your wish, then be safe, my sister."

As the two walked out of the throne room, Luna flanked Discord, anxiously biting her lip.

"Who was the other pony you wished to come with you?" She asked, breaking the silence.

"Why, my dearest friend Fluttershy, of course!" Replied the spirit, "That is, if she can even work up the courage to go. In fact, I've already written a letter to her, explaining my daughter and her sickness. She should be here in three... Two... One..."

"I came as fast I could!" A gentle female voice called from behind. The two immortals turned to see the yellow pegasus in question approaching them quickly.

"Fluttershy, you have no idea how much it means to me for you to come on this 'quest', despite the fact that there will be many dangers ahead."

Fluttershy gulped a little, "I'm only doing it because you're my friend. I... I didn't even know you had a daughter." She glanced at the little purple fluff ball in Discord's arms, "Is that her?"

"Indeed it is." Replied the spirit.

"And she has what?"

"Bed Death, I think."

"Red Death." Luna corrected.

"Same thing."

"I'm so sorry to hear that, Discord," The pegasus apologized kindly, "I may not be of much help, but I'll try my best."

The chaos creature smiled at the two mares, "I hate to admit this, but I'm actually quite thankful for you two. I'm not the most sociable guy; in fact, probably antisocial, but I didn't want to be completely alone on this trip."

"Your heart is in the right place," Said Luna, motioning towards the sleeping filly, "That's why we're helping you. You wish to save the life of another and that is true heroism in my book."

Discord scowled, "That reminds me. If you two ever speak of this 'good deed' to anypony... I swear to pony god, I'll turn you both into sandwiches, then eat you!"

"What's wrong, Discord?" Questioned Luna with a condescending air, "Afraid to show your good side?"

"Shut up, you will."

Fluttershy raised an eyebrow, "Umm... What?"

"Inside joke." Discord quickly answered. He fidgeted when the filly in his arms shifted and groaned a little, "We better get moving. I'm not sure how long Screwball will hold up."

"That's not a good idea," Warned Luna, "It will be nightfall by the time we arrive anywhere with an inn. Dangerous creatures lurk through Equestria at night."

"So? You're the Night Princess. Scare them off with your Royal Canterlot Voice."

"I can't control the creatures of the night, Discord. Don't be naïve like you always are."

Discord pushed past the princess, heading for the door, "Well I care about my daughter's health. I'm not wasting anymore time arguing with you."

Fluttershy and Luna exchanged glances before they reluctantly followed the draconequus.

"I've never seen him act so..." Fluttershy paused, searching for the right word, "Mature."

"He is worried, for his daughter is what matters to him the most," Luna replied wisely, "I think he values her even over his chaos. He can't stand the thought of losing her, and neither can I now that I see how close they are."

"Will you two quit mumbling?" Groaned Discord, turning to the two mares with an angry frown on his deformed face, "We've got land to cover. Hurry!"

Once again, Luna and Fluttershy exchanged glances. They then flanked Discord as he walked out the door, looking more determined than ever.


	3. Worries

**Weeeeellll... Here's another chapter! Thanks for all of the favorites and follows so far! Oh, and a slight fluffiness warning near the end! Constructive criticism is always welcome.**

* * *

After packing supplies, Discord wasted no time getting airborne. He told the two he wanted to cover as much land as they could in the residential areas, then drop down to the ground when they flew over the more rural areas. Luna said that this was probably a good idea for when they passed the Changeling Hive, for the changelings would notice them if they were in the air, but perhaps not so much if they were on land.

As soon as they were out in the open, the three took wing, flying over Canterlot and the mountains which is rested upon. Luna had questioned how Discord was going to carry his daughter and complete simple tasks at the same time, for his arms were not free if he was constantly carrying around Screwball. Of course, being the clever demon he was, Discord stole a bed sheet from the palace and made a makeshift baby carrier with it, tying it around his back and leaving a floppy edge for Screwball to safely lay in. Therefore, she could stay close to her father while his arms were perfectly free.

As the three flew over the land, Luna desperately tried to break the awkward silence by playing a game of I Spy. The game quickly ended when everyone's answer ended up being a tree. So they flew in silence.

About ten minutes into their flight, Screwball woke up, having a small sneezing fit as she did. She looked down at the land below, then looked up at her father.

"Daddy?" She asked weakly.

"Yes, my love?" The draconequus replied in that same, gentle voice he rarely used.

"Why are we flying?"

"Well, Princess Prissy Sparkle Butt told me that the only cure for your sickness is a stupid plant, many miles away in an oversized flamethrower. So that's where we're going."

"Oh. Well... Thank you daddy. Can we make it in time?"

Discord hesitated for a moment, "Of course we will. You just hang on and we'll be there in a few days or less. So you just go right back to resting."

"But I'm not tired."

"Then don't rest."

Screwball cranned her neck, looking at the other two mares flying next to them. She first saw Fluttershy on the left, who she was perfectly fine with. Fluttershy was the one who gave her father a chance in the first place and she had admired her for it. Screwball looked to the right and discovered Princess Luna. She immediately frowned with disapproval before she poked her father's chest, getting his attention.

"Why is the stupid princess here?" She whispered, though it wasn't fair to call it a whisper, for Luna heard it anyway.

"She's here to help us, sweetie," Explained Discord, "Don't worry. She's not going to cause any harm to you or me."

This seemed to calm Screwball, but she still refused to stop glaring at the princess, which made poor Luna uncomfortable. As the sun slowly began to set, Luna raised the moon with her magic. She took this as a signal and suggested to the others:

"We should retire and find high ground so that no monsters can attack us while we sleep."

Discord was reluctant, but with a little convincing from Fluttershy, they landed on a hill in the middle of the clusters of trees. Only when he had landed did Discord realize how much his wings ached. They had been flying for a pretty long time, and even he was exhausted.

Luna had brought tents, well, tent to be exact. She began setting up a two story tent that looked more like a small house than a tent. The Alicorn explained that they needed to travel light, and that one large tent was better than carrying three small ones. Of course, Discord explained to the princess that he hated the idea of living in luxury out in the wilderness and had brought his own smaller, simpler tent for he and Screwball to sleep in. Luna was reluctant to this, but she didn't exactly want Discord in the same tent with two females. It wasn't that she thought Discord was a pervert, she just found it a little uncomfortable.

As Luna set up her tent, Discord gathered fire wood and lit the fire with plain old flint and his claws. He sat there on a log, getting frustrated everytime the wood refused to catch fire. Screwball sat beside him, wrapped in the same bed sheet that her father had stolen from the palace. Fluttershy eventually wandered over, sitting on an old tree stump.

"I don't mean to sound rude," She began, "But is there a reason you aren't lighting the fire with your magic?"

"Fires lit by magic only last for an hour, if not less." Explained Discord, grinding his lion's claw against the flint, only for it to break said claw. He yelped and put the finger with the broken claw in his mouth, sucking on it like a baby would suck his thumb.

"You're doing it wrong," Said Fluttershy, "You're supposed to use a knife or another piece of flint, not your claws."

"Forget this!" The spirit yelled, throwing the flint behind him. He instead poofed up a box of matches, "I should have used these instead and I wouldn't have broken my poor wittle claw..."

Screwball giggled, "You're so silly, daddy."

"I wasn't trying to be, but okay." Discord struck the match, then threw it into the wood. It took a little while, but soon the stack of wood was blazing hot, providing heat for the three ponies and one draconequus on the cold night. Once Luna had finished putting up her and Fluttershy's tent, she trotted over to the fire, joining the others in its glorious heat. She had somehow managed to get a stake caught in her long, flowing mane and she didn't seem to realize it; though Discord did, and took it as an opportunity to mess with the clueless Alicorn.

"Oh, Luna dear," He said, smiling mischievously, "You got a little something caught in your hair."

"What?" Asked the Alicorn as she began searching through her mane, completely unaware that Discord had taken the 'something' out already.

"Keep looking," He chuckled, holding the stake behind his back, "It's still there."

"Discord, stop it." Fluttershy commanded with a surprising amount of authority for her.

The creature of chaos rolled his eyes, then took out the stake, "Fine. Luna, you had this stuck in your hair. Happy now?"

Fluttershy smiled blissfully, signaling that she approved it. For the next few minutes, the four sat in silence, staring at the flickering flames in the middle. Eventually, Discord broke the awkward silence, standing up and taking Screwball into his arms.

"Well! I believe me and the little one are going to retire to our beds now," He said, "So, goodnight, sweet dreams, tomorrow's another day, yadda yadda yadda." He began to walk away over to his small and simple blue tent, yawning and stretching as he did.

"Goodnight, Discord." Replied Luna, looking a little tired herself.

"Goodnight!" Called Fluttershy. She turned to Luna, "I think I might go to sleep too. Are you coming?"

"No, dear Fluttershy," Replied the Night Princess, "I may be away from Canterlot, but that doesn't mean I have no royal duties to attend to. I must watch over the night and defend ponies from the Nightmare Forces."

Fluttershy nodded before she quietly trotted to the tent, leaving Luna by herself, staring at the flames with a slight loneliness in her bright blue eyes.

* * *

As Discord entered the tent, he sat Screwball on a pile of blankets and sleeping bags he had arranged earlier. Immediately, he took out a jar of medicine Celestia had given him and began to enchant it with magic. His talon hand glowed a gentle gold as he placed it on the lid of the jar, turning the blue liquid white. He turned to Screwball, who was still sitting up and staring intently at him.

"Here," The spirit spoke, uncapping the jar and scooting closer to the filly, "A good friend of mine gave this to me. It should hold back some of that disease and help you sleep better."

Screwball took the jar in her hooves and began drinking it with no hesitation.

"Don't drink it too fast," Warned Discord, "You might end up giving yourself a tummy ache."

Screwball sat the jar down, which Discord promptly turned into a piece of gummy candy and ate it. The little filly proceeded to lay down on her belly, yawning as she did.

"You're going to stay here all night, right daddy?" She asked, her swirly-eyed stare looking slightly worried.

"If that is what you want." The spirit replied, immediately coiling his long, serpentine body around the filly, serving as a protective blanket of cinammon-brown fur.

"You promise you won't leave?" Questioned Screwball, gazing up at her father intently.

"Now why would I leave?" He replied with a confused frown, "I have no reason to. Are you afraid the boogeymare's gonna get ya?"

Screwball giggled, "No, because I know you'd turn 'em into ice cream with sprinkles."

"Then what are you so worried about, my dearest?"

Screwball didn't answer.

"Well?"

"Nothing. Never mind."

Discord decided to ignore it. He knew that kids often worried about nothing, so he decided not to worry about his daughter's worry. What only concerned him right now was keeping her safe and warm until he could heal her with the Phoenix Flower.

A sense of dread suddenly stormed in him, realizing he probably had only a few days until his daughter slipped right out of his grasp and away from the mortal world. He couldn't bare the thought of her dying. The spirit shook the thought out of his head and simply laid there with the filly tucked safely in his coils.

She was just starting to drift off into a deeper sleep as she shivered and cuddled closer to her father's chest. Realizing that she felt horribly cold, Discord wrapped his lion's arm around the filly and pulled her closer so that she was comfortably snuggled between his arm and chest. Screwball apparently approved of this, because she nuzzled her head into the crook of his arm, sighing contently before becoming still; the only movement was her chest rising and falling from breathing.

Discord however, refused to sleep. He was so afraid that something might happen to Screwball while he was off in dreamland and he wouldn't be aware of it. He promised himself he wouldn't fall asleep, no matter how tired he was. He would watch over Screwball until she awoke the next morning. And really, Discord didn't mind watching her, for he enjoyed seeing her smile and giggle in her sleep. He would never admit it, for he would sound like a total cornball, but he truly was happy when he saw his daughter happy.

So he laid there, as the hours slowly ticked by and the moon made its nightly journey across the sky. About three in the morning, Discord had given into sleep, as he slowly closed his eyes and started to drift off. However, he was luckily saved when a small cry pieced the night. He looked down, discovering that his child was now sobbing uncontrollably, soaking his cinammon-brown fur.

"What in the name of-" He started to shout, but he immediately lowered his voice, switching over to his kind and gentle tone, the one he only used with Screwball, "Oh, what's wrong, my dear?"

The filly looked up at her father, her face soaked with tears. "The nightmares, daddy!" She cried, burying her face into his fur, "They won't go away!"

Discord was slightly lost. His daughter had never talked about having nightmares before now. Despite his confusion, he tenderly wrapped his arms around the filly, comforting her.

"What nightmares? You've never told me anything about them until just now."

"Because I was afraid of what you might think," Sobbed the filly, "They scare me so much, daddy. I don't want them to happen!"

"Again," Insisted Discord, "What nightmares? Tell me what they are about and what flavor pie they would like to have smashed in their faces."

Screwball hesitated, hiding her face in her father's warm fur.

"Well?"

"It's always the same," She began, "Those horrible ponies and the princesses turn you into stone and destroy you so you can never come back again. I'm afraid that it might come true one day! Please don't let it happen, daddy!"

Realizing that Screwball was fearing for him made the spirit feel guilty. He didn't know why, but he felt horribly guilty for it, even though Screwball made it out to be more of the princesses and their followers' fault. Attempting to assure the filly that he wasn't going anywhere, Discord tightened his body slightly around her, held her even closer, and wrapped his wings around her.

"Now now, it's alright," He cooed in the most fatherly way he could, "Such an event will never come to pass, my sweet. Fluttershy understands me and wouldn't let that happen anyway, even if her friends wanted it to happen. If you're afraid that I'm going to leave you, then someone must be deluding you."

Screwball seemed slightly reassured, for her sobs were slowly reduced to sniffles.

"You're still afraid?" Asked a concerned Discord.

"A little. I wish I had Manny."

The spirit smiled kindly, as he made something appear in his paw. It was a ragged stuffed animal with the body of a lion, the wings of a bat, and the tail of a scorpion. It was a manticore doll.

"I meant to grab this on the way out, but I forgot it," Explained Discord, handing the filly her doll, "Here is your Manny."

Screwball squealed with happiness, holding the stuffed animal close, "Thank you daddy! Now I won't have nightmares!"

Discord was slightly pained that the filly thought a stuffed animal provided more protection than her own father. He dismissed the thought, remembering that children always found their dolls comforting and often kept nightmares away. He wouldn't admit it, but even he slept with whatever doll he could find whenever he got scared in the early morning hours (which happened a lot more often than one would think).

As Screwball settled back down, once again snuggling into her father's warm fur, Discord found himself humming the tune of one of Screwball's favorite lullabies. He wasn't sure why, but maybe he wanted to comfort his daughter even more, thus, why he was doing so. Since he wasn't the greatest singer, he just quietly hummed the tune as Screwball drifted off into a deep sleep, snuggling close to him.

Finally, the spirit could at least rest knowing his daughter was at peace. Sleeping was still out of the question, but at least he wouldn't have to keep comforting Screwball all night. Even though he knew that staying up all night would result in him being completely disoriented the next day, he just couldn't sleep worrying about the filly resting against him.

His thoughts eventually stopped swirling by the time the sun started to come up over the horizon and Luna came to wake him and Screwball up.


	4. Nightmare Come True

**A wild chapter four appeared!**

* * *

"Good morning," Luna greeted gently, "I see you're already awake."

Discord yawned, uncoiling his body from around the filly and stretching it, "I didn't sleep all that great last night."

Luna raised an eyebrow, "You're stressing about Screwball, are you not?"

Discord's eyes darted around, "No."

"Don't lie to me. I can clearly see those bags under your eyes."

Discord turned the bags under his eyes into literal handbags. He removed them and made them disappear.

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

Luna scowled, "Discord, you must rest. If we encounter the changelings or any other dangerous creatures, you won't be prepared and will be too tired to use your magic."

"Luna, I have infinite chaos magic at my disposal," Argued Discord, "The only way I can come close enough to being 'too tired' is if those wretched Helements of Armory turn me into stone again."

"And of course, that will never happen," Luna replied, "So long as you keep your promise to stay on the light side."

"Even though the dark side has cookies."

Luna rolled her eyes, "I have already packed up the tent and put out the fire. Me and Fluttershy are waiting on you."

"Oh goodness!" Exclaimed the spirit. He quickly tied the bed sheet around him and placed Screwball in it. With a snap of his fingers, the tent was compacted and packed away.

Luna was slightly surprised, "I see you're in a haste..."

"Of course I am!" Growled Discord, "We need to get moving now! We have less than a few days to get that stupid flower before I lose my only child! Now come on, Poona, hop to it! Get Buttershy while you're at it!"

Luna raised an eyebrow before waving Fluttershy over. With that, they were off, taking wing above the forest. Already, they were tired from yesterday's flight and lack of sleep, but Discord refused to stop for anything. Never had Luna or Fluttershy seen Discord so determined in anything (except when it was the weekends and he was determined to do nothing).

Fluttershy started flying closer to Discord so that she may chat with him, "Um. I don't mean to be a downer on things... But what would you do if Screwball was to... You know... Pass-"

"No," The spirit growled, surprising Fluttershy a little, "Don't even mention it. Don't talk about it, don't think about it! I have full confidence that I can save my daughter. Don't even think about the downside of things!"

Fluttershy seemed slightly afraid of Discord's sudden change of mood. This caused him to sigh and his scowl to lighten.

"I'm sorry, Fluttershy," He said with true sincerity, "I don't want to think about what I would do if I lost my daughter to this disease," He looked down at the filly strapped to his chest and gently carressed her mane, "She means too much to me. I will get that stupid plant, even if I have to saw my own legs off for it!"

Luna joined with the conversation, "I didn't realize how serious you were about this."

"Of course I'm serious!" Spat Discord, now looking as though he wanted to chew Luna's head off, "This is my child, my pride and joy; the only one of my creations that has ever loved me back! So just-... Just stop! Go away and leave me to think!"

Once again, both Luna and Fluttershy were surprised at Discord's sudden snap. They slowed down, allowing Discord in front of them so he couldn't hear their conversation.

"This is incredibly out of character for him," Luna stated to the pegasus beside her, "Never before have I seen Discord so protective. I am tempted to ask if he hypnotized himself on accident."

"What did he mean by _the only one of his creations that loved him back_?" Asked Fluttershy.

Luna shook her head, "Most of Discord's creations were inanimate objects, or animals and ponies that had been brainwashed or severely disfigured and deformed. None of his creations had a mind of its own; nothing to love their creator with. I am assuming that since Screwball has a mind of her own -a mind to love her creator, that he took an extreme fondness to her and adopted her as his own child. It is because he was once very lonely, with no one to love or love back."

"Shut up, Luna," Snarled Discord, a surprising amount of steel in his usually jolly tone, "I'm really not in the mood for your philosophy at the moment."

Luna sniffed and lowered her voice down to a whisper, "Though Discord was once cruel and uncaring, even he needed somepony to love him for what he was and what he represented. Nopony was willing to do that except for Screwball."

"But I was." Fluttershy stated.

"Yes, but only recently," Luna replied, glancing up at Discord to make sure he wasn't listening to their conversation, "The past few millennia have been lonely ones for Discord. I know for a fact that he is the only one of his kind left. To be trapped in stone for a thousand years, nowhere to go except in his mind, no one to talk to except for himself, no one to care about him."

"Luna, I swear to your fat sister Celestia," Discord interrupted, stopping abruptedly to face the Alicorn, "I may joke around most of the times, but this is not one of those times. For my sake and your sanity, shut up."

With that, the conversation ended.

* * *

Back in Canterlot, Twilight was having a chat with her mentor in the throne room.

"I'm still rather confused about how Discord has a daughter," The purple Alicorn stated, "He never... You know... Had a marefriend, did he?"

"Not that I am aware of," Replied Celestia, overlooking the stain glass windows of the throne room walls, "My sister tells me Screwball was not created as most ponies are. Powerful chaos magic formed her body and gave her a being. It surprises me that there are no dangerous defects in her nature, being formed from nothing but pure chaos magic."

"The eyes?"

Celestia nodded, "Yes, how could I forget about those eyes? But it is to be expected that something would be slightly odd about her appearance. It's a possible use of unstable magic that worries me."

"But she's an earth pony." Twilight replied blankly.

"Again, she wasn't created as most ponies," Celestia restated, "Though she may appear as an earth pony on the outside, the blood of a draconequus runs through her veins; magic that cannot be controlled by her limited form."

"May I ask, why are you worrying about this, Princess?"

"Because the Red Death caused incredibly strange things to happen to unicorns and other magical creatures when they gained the disease. A unicorn with Red Death could destroy an entire city if angered. It would be even worse with Screwball, since she is filled with powerful magic just waiting to break out," Celestia's face became grim, "She could even end up killing my sister and her father if she rages."

"But they're both immortal!" Cried Twilight, "No magic can kill them!"

"An immortal can kill another immortal. Screwball is also immortal."

Twilight tried to digest all that she just heard. If Screwball's magic became uncontrollable, would it really end up killing Discord and Princess Luna; or more importantly, her close friend Fluttershy?

Celestia sighed, interrupting Twilight's thoughts, "I only hope my sister can keep Discord and his daughter out of trouble. Heaven knows that trouble follows him and most likely his child wherever they go."

"And pray that they stay safe." Added Twilight, feeling a pang of slight sadness.

* * *

"Discord, we have been flying for hours now," Luna began, "Don't you think we should rest for a few minutes?"

"You're not the one with the dying child," Discord shot back, "We keep flying.

"But Fluttershy is not a strong flyer as both of us are," Argued the princess, "Even I am beginning to feel pains in my wing."

"Oh no, I'm fine!" Fluttershy replied, even though her heavy breathing and barely moving wings indicated otherwise, "I can keep going."

Discord glared at his two companions, "Fine. We'll rest for a moment." He looked down at the forest below before pointing to a clearing in the woods, "How about there? We'll rest there, drink some water, eat a snack, pee, whatever. Not all at the same time, of course."

The three dove down, landing in the clearing. The sun was high in the sky, beating down upon them. Both Fluttershy and Luna took this time to indulge in some water, but Discord used the time to check on his sick child, who had woken up fully. He took Screwball out of the makeshift carrier and carefully placed her weak body against a tree. She was still cuddling her Manny, refusing to let go of it. Discord then placed a claw on her forehead, which felt incredibly hot; then he felt her chest, which was freezing cold instead. Her purple color was beginning to dull.

"How do you feel, dear?" Asked Discord, hoping for better.

Screwball immediately killed his optimism, "Worse."

The spirit stood up and nervously began to pace. Luna and Fluttershy sat a few feet away from the two, resting their tired wings.

"You must rest, Discord," Luna insisted, "We still have many miles to go. If you are not well rest-"

"Shut up, Luna," Growled Discord, once again surprising her with how serious his tone was, "I'm thinking."

For a moment, they were all silent, the only noise being Discord's mismatched feet against the grass. He suddenly stopped pacing as a wide smile appeared on his face.

"I know that look," Luna stated with heavy worry in her voice, "Now is not the time to turn timberwolves into chihuahuas."

"If you think that's what I'm thinking," Began Discord, turning to the princess, "Then I think your thinks are wrong, I think. Though it would be hilarious, that's not what I'm thinking," He pointed to the two mares with an idealistic look in his red and yellow eyes, "Poison joke."

Fluttershy cocked an eyebrow, "What about it?"

"Poison joke. It's a medicine for us chaotic beings!"

"You do realize that poison joke is dangerous for ponies, correct?" Luna reminded, now thoroughly confused by Discord's idea.

"I am aware of that," He shot back, glaring at the alicorn, "But you see, Screwball is technically not a normal pony. She simply took the form of a pony when my magic formed her. She is full blooded draconequus deep down."

"So what about the poison joke?" Insisted Fluttershy.

"You see," Began Discord, suddenly in a professor's suit with a blackboard behind him, "Even though the poison joke has adverse -but rather hilarious- effects on the average pony..." He drew the familiar blue leaves of the poison joke, a plus sign, then drew a pony, an equal sign, and finally drew the same pony with incredibly large ears like an elephant's.

"What is the point of this?" Questioned Luna.

"Ah! Raise your hoof if you have a question." Insisted the professor draconequus.

Luna refused and simply sat there with her head in her hooves, causing Fluttershy to giggle.

"...Its effects on the chaos makers are opposite," Continued Discord, ignored Luna altogether, "When one of the chaos blood is subjected to a touch of the poison joke..." He took the time to draw a sick-looking, poorly drawn version of himself, a plus sign, a poison joke, an equal sign, then a very happy Discord drawing, "That chaotic being is relieved for a small amount of time. Of course, it doesn't completely get rid of the disease, but it will certainly slow it down and perk Screwball up."

"Problem is, where will we find the poison joke?" Fluttershy asked. "That's an easy one," Answered Discord a little too confidentially, "They're all around out here. Me and Luna will go look for them, Fluttershy, keep watch over my daughter. Do not let her out of your sights. Scream if something attacks you, and I'll be there in a blink of an eye." "

M-me?" Stuttered the timid Fluttershy.

"Yes, you," The spirit insisted, "We won't be gone long."

"Discord, I don't think it is a good-" Luna started, but Discord stopped her by placing a paw over her mouth.

"Shhh!" He hissed, "Less talkie, more findie!"

With much force, Discord dragged Luna out of the clearing and into the bushes to find the poison joke. Fluttershy was left with Screwball, who was still laying uncomfortably against the tree. She trotted over to her, thinking that it was awfully inconsiderate of Discord to not even give her a pillow to lay on instead of the tree trunk.

"Hello Miss Fluttershy." Rasped the filly. She still seemed oddly happy, despite the fact that she was fast approaching her death bed.

"Hello," Fluttershy greeted back, "Do you need anything? Are you cold? Are you hungry?"

"I'm okay right now," Answered Screwball, yawning as she did, "Where did my dad go?"

"He went with Aunt Luna to get some poison joke," Answered the butter-colored pegasus, "He'll be back soon, don't worry."

Screwball seemed to trust the mare. Probably not as much as she trusted her father, but she definitely trusted her none the less. It surprised Fluttershy that she did trust her, since she was one of the Elements of Harmony -one of the ponies that imprisoned her father a second time. Perhaps because she had given Discord a chance to be free forever had gotten her on Screwball's good side, unlike Luna, whom the filly seemed to hate.

Fluttershy yawned and laid down. Maybe, just maybe she could rest her eyes for just a moment before Discord and Luna returned. Nothing bad could happen in that amount of time, could it?

However, as Fluttershy closed her eyes, she found herself drifting off into a deep sleep.

* * *

Screwball simply laid there, cuddling her doll and awaiting for the return of her father and the princess.

_What if they got in trouble?_ Her thoughts started to stir, _Or what if that horrible Alicorn princess turned my dad into stone again? What if I'm next? _

The purple filly whimpered, wanting her father back. She was cold, unaturally cold; most likely due to the loss of blood that warmed her body. She looked over at Fluttershy, who had apparently fallen asleep.

Then, something peculiar caught Screwball's eye. In the bushes, a quick flash of blue-green made the filly squint. It compelled her curiosity, so much so that she ignored her weak legs and stood up, still holding Manny the maticore. She started to slowly trot over to the bushes to get a closer look at whatever had flashed. Nothing was there, forcing her to enter the bushes.

Screwball walked through the thick and tangled limbs of the lower forest. The place was definitely creepy, but she was determined to find out what that flash was. It never even occurred to her that she had walked so far until she came to a different clearing. This one was smaller than the other one, but still looked practically the same. Screwball looked around, searching for the flash. She spotted something moving in the bushes and moved in to get a closer look.

"Hello?" She asked the thing in the bush. For a moment, the bushes stopped rustling. A chicken's head suddenly popped out of the bushes, currently having its head facing away from Screwball.

"Why hello there, little guy!" The filly greeted, surprised to see a chicken this far out in the forest, "What brings you out here?"

When the chicken turned around, Screwball's breath caught in her throat and her remaining blood ran cold. It had piercing, unnaturally red eyes; eyes that no other normal chicken had. She fell back as the thing approached out of the bushes. The creature had the head and the legs of a chicken, but in between, it got a little strange. Its body, wings, and tail were of a serpent of some sort. Screwball knew what this thing was, since she had read up a lot on hybrid creatures like her father.

"A cockatrice...!" She whimpered, immediately hiding her eyes. Even though her own father was considered a terrifying creature, Screwball knew this paticular terrifying creature was severely hostile. She knew that if she looked straight into its eyes that she would immediately be turned into stone.

The thought paralyzed her with fear, as she heard the cockatrice approach her, making hissing and clucking noises. She had to get away, get Discord, Fluttershy, or heck, even Luna's attention. She was desperate. Screwball backed up, almost able to smell the rancid breath of the chicken-snake beast. She called out for help as loud as her weak lungs would let her, but nothing answered. She felt helpless, unable to take her hooves off of her eyes for fear she may accidentally look at the cockatrice's eyes.

"Daddy! Fluttershy! Luna!" The purple filly called out, "Anypony! Help!"

The cockatrice hissed. It had to be right on top of her, for she could feel the air pushed by its wings onto her face. What would happen if Screwball still refused to look at it? Would it get impatient and attack with its beak and claws instead? Would it tear her to shreds? Truly it terrified her to no end and she was beginning to regret following the flash in the first place.

Screwball felt her manticore doll ripped out of her hold. She could hear the chicken-snake ripping into the helpless stuffed animal and scattering its insides all around. She wanted to cry, but she had to figure out a way to escape from the hostile beast. The cockatrice was clearly finished with the mauling of Manny and hissed at Screwball again. She could hear its clawed feet scraping against the grass, approaching closer to her.

Just then, a miracle struck. Screwball heard a noise that sounded like a combination between a roar, a squawk, and a neigh; definitely not belonging to the cockatrice. Something leapt over her, landing between her and the enraged cockatrice. She dared to look, only to discover her father standing over her, using his body to shield her eyes from the cockatrice.

"Big mistake, buster." Hissed Discord, baring his fangs.

The cockatrice clucked and backed up, startled for a moment. It recovered quicker than Discord expected and cawed loudly, as if to say: "Yeah right!"

"No daddy!" Cried Screwball, "Don't look at it!"

Too late. The cockatrice opened its eyes wide, as if projecting an invisible beam onto its opponent. Immediately, a patch of stone appeared on Discord's hindlegs and quickly began traveling upwards. He panicked, falling over and exposing his daughter to the cockatrice.

"No!" The filly cried, attempting to run to her father. The cockatrice blocked her path however, forcing her to hide her eyes again. She peeked out from behind her hoof, careful to keep the cockatrice out of sight. She could see her father helplessly lying on his stomach as the stone continued to travel up, now reaching his waist. Her nightmares were coming true.

Screwball cried out, hoping Luna and Fluttershy weren't too far behind. She wasn't sure what they could do at this point, but she couldn't care less as long as they did something to chase the cockatrice off and prevent her only family member from becoming a lawn ornament again.

Another miracle struck just in time. Something caused the cockatrice to whimper and suddenly turn and run. Screwball was allowed to uncover her eyes just in time to see Luna standing over her father, who was now three-fourths stone. She couldn't bear to look as she turned away, crying into her hooves. Screwball however, didn't witness what happened next. Luna used her magic to blast all the stone off of Discord; and even cleaned him of some of the stone flecks left over. He stood up, his face wet and red.

"Discord, were you..." Luna began, "...Crying?"

Discord sniffed, which sounded mucus-filled, "No."

Luna raised an eyebrow, unconvinced by his answer.

"Maybe a little."

Luna scowled.

"Okay okay! Maybe a lot!" Discord turned away, wiping his face of the remaining tears, "I panicked, okay? I have nightmares about being turned into stone again! Do you realize how terrifying it is to be trapped in complete darkness, unable to see anything, do anything, and barely able to hear anything?"

Luna's expression softened as she looked down.

"Oh, yeah..." Remembered Discord, "The whole... Imprisoned in the moon thing."

"You sometimes forget that I have suffered in similar ways to you as well," Luna said, "But you do realize that a cockatrice's magic can easily be reversed, correct?"

Discord's face flushed with a crimson color, "I was too busy reliving my nightmare -mind you, it was quite terrifying."

Luna glanced down at Screwball, who was still sobbing, "I believe your daughter shares the same feelings." D

iscord quietly gasped, just now noticing his weeping daughter. Quickly as possible, he darted over to her and snatched her up in a comforting hug.

"I'm so sorry, my dearest," He said to the filly in his arms, "I was too caught up in my own fears to notice your's. Are you alright?"

"But... But I thought you were turned to stone again!" Cried Screwball, her tears only subsiding a little.

"Oh, Auntie Luna saved me." Discord quietly turned and winked at Luna, who was about to object. She immediately held her tongue, seeing what Discord was doing.

"Sh-she did?" Questioned a surprised Screwball.

Her father nodded, "Yes indeed. You should be thanking her. If it wasn't for her, I'd be a piece of lifeless rock again."

"But who chased off the cockatrice?" Screwball asked, glancing at Luna again. The princess shrugged at both of them.

"Um..." A timid voice said from behind, "I did?"

All of them turned, discovering Fluttershy standing at the edge of the clearing.

"You?" Questioned Discord, a little surprised himself.

"Don't misjudge her, Discord," Luna replied with a small smile directed at Fluttershy, "That Stare of her's is nothing to sneeze at."

Fluttershy blushed a little from the comment.

"Well..." Interrupted Discord, "I'm glad we're all safe and stuff... But we really need to get going. The Phoenix Flower isn't going to find itself, after all."

* * *

The four walked back the clearing they had originally landed in. All the while, Discord was attempting to calm his sobbing daughter down, but to no avail.

"Excuse us," He told Luna and Fluttershy when they returned, "Me and Screwy here are just going to have a little chat before we take off again."

Both mares nodded in agreement.

"We will be right here when you return." Said Luna with a smile.

Discord proceeded to carry Screwball into the nearby bushes so Luna and Fluttershy wouldn't see him comfort her if he had to do so. He sat the filly down gently before him and kneeled down to her level.

"Why, child?" He questioned firmly, though he kept his voice from rising, "Why did you run off without Auntie Fluttershy? You know these woods are dangerous!"

Screwball sniffed, "I don't know. I was curious."

"Haven't you ever heard the phrase: 'curiosity killed the cat'? It's not just the cat that it kills, but ponies too."

The purple filly turned her gaze away, "I'm... I'm sorry. I didn't think it would be a cockatrice! And-..." She paused for a moment before breaking down into tears again.

"Oh..." Crooned Discord, immediately taking the filly into his loving embrace, "Stop, stop it now. Don't cry, my dear."

Little Screwball only cried harder, soaking her father's fur, "But you almost got turned into stone because of me!"

"Stoned? By a cockatrice? Their magic is feeble and weak. Snake-butt could never hope to incase me in stone. Even if I was fully turned into stone, it would have taken me less than five minutes to break out again."

Screwball's tears seemed to subside, "R-really? Why were you panicking? Why did Luna have to help you?"

"Ah... I have nightmares just as you do," Discord began, stroking his daughter's mane, "Truth be told, being turned to stone is terrifying. If I had to suffer through it again for a third time, I'd probably have a mental breakdown. And Luna? Why, she was simply being helpful."

"But I thought she hated you." This comment caused Discord to chuckle, "Let's just say we have a sort of... Frenemies relationship." His expression hardened, "Now, I meant to ask you; did that thing harm you in anyway?"

Screwball fell quiet as she pulled away from her father and looked down. She hid her right arm from sight. Using his magic, Discord gently pulled her arm up, allowing for him to see. Where the cockatrice had yanked Manny the manticore out of Screwball's grasp were some small claw marks. It wasn't anything serious, but some of them were open and bleeding. If they continued to travel in the wilderness, it could possibly get infected.

"Oh Screwball," The spirit sighed, making a bottle of ointment and a roll of bandages appear beside him, "Why must you be such a troublemaker like your daddy?"

"I'm so sorry." Screwball apologized as her father gently took her wounded hoof in his paw. He grabbed the ointment and started to apply it to Screwball's hoof, but she jerked it back at the last moment.

"Will it sting?" She asked.

"You won't feel a thing." Replied Discord with a kind smile. Screwball allowed the draconequus to take her hoof again. He applied the ointment and rubbed it in, ignoring the small amount of blood getting on his claws. To anyone's amazement, he was beyond gentle, as if he was handling a nuclear bomb. In fact, he wasn't exaggerating when he had told Screwball she wouldn't feel a thing. She didn't even feel her father rub the ointment into her wounds.

"Was that it?" She questioned, surprised that she hasn't felt any stinging pain.

"That was all," Replied Discord, now reaching for the bandages, "Would I lie to you? Of course not. Now let's get your hoof all wrapped up."

He had the scrapes dressed in no time at all. Though Screwball was still infected with the Red Death, at least Discord would no longer have to worry about an infected wound too.

"Now," He began, standing up and taking the filly into his arms, "Your daddy and Auntie Luna found the poison joke we were looking for. Let's hope we have the same luck with the stupid firebird plant, shall we?"

Little Screwball chortled before cuddling into her father's warm fur, "Okay."

* * *

**Are you not overcome with fluffiness? ARE YOU NOT?!**

**Anyways, thanks for the follows and favorites so far. You guys are awesomesauce!**


	5. Stormy Nights

**WARNING: FLUFFINESS.**

* * *

Once Discord and Screwball had walked back into the clearing, Luna and Fluttershy grabbed their stuff, ready to go. With that, they took off again.

"There is a town between here and Mount Cinder," Explained Luna as they soared over the forest which was now changing to a more rural landscape, "Ralneigh, I think they call it. Perhaps we can stay at an inn there instead of camping out."

"Do we have money?" Questioned Discord, turning to the Alicorn flying beside him, "Or am I going to have to go all _trust in me_ on someone?"

Luna rolled her eyes, "No need for your magic. I brought plenty of money in case we did stay at an inn, or needed to buy something."

"I was hoping you'd say no. I enjoy hypnotizing ponies into doing what I want them to do. Hey, remember that time I-?"

"NO!" Screamed Luna, using her Royal Canterlot Voice, "Thou shan't speak of that time! Or we shall vanquish thee!"

It was Discord's turn to roll his eyes, "Jeez Luna. You're such a killjoy about everything."

They soared on. The sun was beginning to set as Luna used her magic to raise the moon. Clouds were starting to gather, turning the sky darker. Thunder rumbled in the distance, signaling a soon-to-be storm was approaching.

Neither Fluttershy nor Discord realized they were there until Luna stopped them. In fact, it wasn't fair to call the place a "town", for there were only a couple buildings; one assumed to be the inn, and the others assumed to be stores or houses.

The four landed in front of the inn. The place was nothing special. There was a run down check-in building, then some slightly larger buildings behind it; assumed to be the guest's room. They quietly trotted in through the door and up to the desk, where an elderly mare sat with her head leaning on one hoof, apparently asleep.

"Excuse me." Said Luna firmly.

The mare jumped, gasping as she did. She glanced up at the mismatched quad.

"Princess Luna!" She exclaimed. She bowed respectively before glancing at Discord. Her eyes widened a considerable amount at his appearance.

"Do not be afraid of my companion here," Assured Luna, "He means no harm. We were simply passing through and need somewhere to stay." She set some money down on the desk. The mare however, wouldn't quit staring at Discord, which made him smile darkly at her.

"Why should I make you pay for a room?" She questioned with a heavy sense of nervousness in her voice, "I-I... You can stay here for free! You're our princess, after all!" Another glance at Discord and the mare mouthed the words _Please don't hurt me _at him.

Luna turned to Discord, who still had that cheesy evil grin on his face, "What do you think you're doing?"

"Doing?" He questioned innocently, "Is it illegal to smile?"

"Like that, yes. Stop that at once. You are scaring her."

Discord rolled his eyes, "_Excuuuuse_ me for trying to save some money, Lulu."

This earned an unforgiving elbow in the side from Fluttershy. For such a delicate and sweet mare, she did have quite a bit of strength in her arms.

"Fine, fine," The spirit groaned, "Pay for it. But don't come crying to me when we don't have any money left."

Luna paid for the room, apologizing to the check-in mare for Discord frightening her so much. They then headed outside to the other buildings behind the check-in building. Storm clouds had formed and now completely covered the sky. Lightning flashed, lighting up the sky for a few milliseconds before leaving it dark again. Pouring rain could be seen a few miles off in the distance.

They came to one of the buildings. They were room seven, which was on the second floor. Climbing up the stairs was a nightmare, since they had all been flying for a very long time and could barely feel their legs. They luckily made it to the room, panting as they did.

The room wasn't anything special, much like the other buildings. It still beat sleeping in a tent out in the wild though. There were two twin-sized beds for Fluttershy and Luna, and a pullout sofa bed for Discord and Screwball. All of them were beyond tired, causing them to flop onto the same bed.

"Do any of you feel like you need an energy drink?" Questioned Discord, "Because I know I-"

"No!" Exclaimed Luna, "Remember what happened the last time you drank a can of energy drink? You tore a hole in the space-time continuum! If it wasn't for Doctor Whooves, the universe would have collapsed!"

"Ah yes," Sighed Discord, patting his stomach, "Good times, good times... But seriously though, I need something to eat. Can we order room service?"

* * *

After they had gotten something to eat and settled down for the night, the four spent the night recalling funny stories about their past life. Mostly it was Discord who shared stories, especially about his teenage years. He had both Luna and Fluttershy rolling around on the floor, though Screwball didn't get any of the jokes.

The storm had set in, trapping the four in their rooms. They decided to settle down for the night and get some rest before heading out again. As Discord fixed the sofa bed, Screwball and Luna had a private chat, which was a sight to behold.

"Can I tell you something?" The little filly asked as they sat on the bed together.

"Of course, my child." Luna replied in the kindest way she possibly could.

"Thank you for helping my daddy," Screwball said, "I always thought you were a stupid, heartless, snobby, mean-"

"I don't mean to interrupt," Luna cut in, "But... Could you please say what you are going to say?"

"Oh, yeah right. I always thought you were just a snooty princess who didn't care about anypony but herself, but you're not like that, Auntie Luna. I doubt Princess Molestia would have done that."

Luna tensed upon hearing her sister's naughty nickname given by Screwball, "Um... Where exactly did you hear that?"

"Oh, my daddy." Luna glared at Discord, who was now staring innocently at them.

"I have no idea what she's talking about," He added, giving a sleazy smile, "Must have heard it from somewhere else."

Luna nodded, obviously unconvinced. She turned back to the filly, not wanting to hear Discord's excuses.

"But thank you," Continued Screwball, smiling at the princess, "I don't think I hate you a lot anymore."

Luna wasn't sure to take that as a compliment or an insult, so she simply nodded and said, "You are welcome."

Screwball looked as though she was about to say more, but Discord cut in and picked the filly up from Luna's bed.

"Sorry to interrupt your chat with my daughter, Luna," He apologized with little sympathy, "But this little stinker needs to get to bed. It's much past her bedtime and I have to give her her medicine."

Luna smiled, "Sleep well, both of you."

Discord took Screwball back over to the pulled out sofa bed and placed her gently on it. He took out a bottle of medicine, enchanted it with his magic, and placed a leaf of poison joke in it. He shook it up, making sure the leaf was dissolved in the liquid before uncapping it and giving it to Screwball.

"I don't like that medicine," She groaned, sticking her tongue out, "It tastes like sweaty gym socks."

"But it makes you better, my dear," Discord replied, "You won't to feel a little better, don't you?"

Screwball nodded, "Yes."

"Then please drink it, for the good of both of us."

Screwball seemed reluctant, but she took the medicine and promptly drank it. She made a "eating a sour lemon" face before handing the jar back to Discord.

"Nasty!" She cried, "Blech!"

"I know, but it makes you feel a little better." Explained Discord sympathetically, placing his eagle claw on her forehead to check her temperature again. The poison joke combined with the medicine already seemed to take effect, coloring Screwball's pale fur slightly darker and making her weak and feeble body feel somewhat stronger.

"I do feel a little better." Agreed the filly.

"See? I told you so." Discord remarked in his usual immature tone. He quickly reverted back to his gentle, fatherly tone, "Now, why don't we get some sleep?"

"Are you going to bed?" Questioned Fluttershy from across the room.

"Yes," Answered Discord, settling down into the sofa bed with Screwball crawling in next to him, "Are you?"

"Probably," The pegasus replied, also laying down in her bed, "Well, good night. Have sweet dreams!"

"As to you too, my friend."

"Good night to both of you." Luna added, cutting off the lights, leaving the room completely dark. She continued to sit up in bed however, being unable to sleep during the night.

As the three out of the four started to fall asleep, rain pounded against the roof. Lightning flashed, illuminating the room for a split second. Thunder boomed and rocked the creaky building. All the while, Discord lied in bed, his arms around his daughter who cuddled close to him. Worrying about her caused him to start carressing her mane absentmindedly.

He wasn't as worried as much as he was last night, but he still stressed about making it to Mount Cinder and getting the Phoenix Flower in time. Discord yawned, feeling like death warmed over. He wanted to sleep so badly, but stressing about Screwball's sickness made it impossible to do so. Maybe if Luna was kind enough...

"Pssst!" The spirit hissed quietly, sitting up and trying to catch Luna's attention without waking his daughter, "Luna. Luna!"

Luna glanced over from reading a book. She shut it and quietly trotted over to Discord and Screwball's bed.

"Is there a problem?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I want you to watch Screwball while I sleep," He replied with a slightly irritated tone, "I can't sleep knowing that nopony's watching over her, making sure she doesn't... You know... Pass in her sleep."

"You do need your sleep for the journey ahead," Luna agreed, deep in thought while rubbing her chin, "Very well. I'll watch over her while you rest."

Discord smiled blissfully before whispering under his breath, "Thank you Luna. Oh, and she just recently told me about some nightmares she was having. Could you... Oh, I don't know... Blast them away?"

Luna nodded, "Of course. What are they about?" Discord hesitated, "Various things. You'll find out if she has one."

It was Luna's turn to sound irritated, "Erm... Alright. I will gladly watch over her and 'blast' any nightmares away."

"Thank you. Good night."

And with that, Discord laid his head down and immediately began snoring. Luna watched as he pulled his daughter closer to his chest, causing her to smile a little. She herself mustered a smile, seeing how close this father-daughter relationship was. She could barely remember her father, for he had died before she developed the mind to remember him. Celestia often told her about him, saying how kind and humble he was, always taking the time to care for them.

In fact, this thought of not remembering her father made Luna slightly jealous of Screwball. Having a parent to go to and find comfort in was a luxury in Luna's book. Sure, she had her sister, but even Celestia couldn't understand everything she thought about.

However, her resentment immediately stopped when she remember that Screwball had lost her father for a long, lonely millennia. Just thinking about how sad and helpless Screwball was, all those dark nights, all those cold winters without her father there to protect her... It almost made Luna want to go and comfort the filly herself. No wonder Screwball hated her and her sister so much, and why she often refused to leave Discord's side.

Luna pushed her thoughts away, suddenly hearing a small whimper. She looked down at Discord and Screwball, seeing the small filly writhing around in her sleep, burying her face into her father's cinnamon-brown fur. She was dreaming something, and it was definitely not a happy dream.

_Nightmare, _Luna concluded. As fast as she could gather up her magic, she leapt into the filly's dream with little hesitation.

* * *

Upon entering the dream, Luna cloaked herself with an invisibility spell so the causes of the nightmares wouldn't detect her. She looked around, immediately noticing that the nightmare wasn't what she was expecting. Bad memories came back to her when she saw the area in complete chaos; Discord's chaos to be exact.

The landscape was mashed up with kooky colors and patterns constantly shifting and changing, all which made Luna's head hurt. Strange looking trees and bushes grew various candies, from chocolate bars to candy canes. Brainwashed and deformed animals ran rampant, affected by the chaos magic. Worst of all were the ponies, running and screaming in terror at the unatural things around them.

However, Luna sensed happiness somewhere in the land. She flew all over the place, dodging cotton candy clouds and floating buildings. She came upon a slight clearing in the chaos, discovering some familiar faces. Laying there, right in the middle of all the mayhem were Discord and Screwball, perfectly content with the utter disorder and confusion. Both were laying in a floating hammock, somehow able to hold itself up without the aid of trees. Screwball lounged on her father's chest, pointing to various things in the chaotic landscape.

"Oooh!" She squealed, pointing to a cloud that wasn't cotton candy, "Make that cloud explode into tomatoes and hit all the ponies in the face!"

Discord chuckled, amused with his daughter's suggestion, "A wonderful idea, dear. Though the ponies will be a little... Red in the face, it will be worth it."

Luna scrunched her nose. Why did she sense that this was a nightmare? It was obvious that Screwball was happy, healthy, and with her father. Luna could sense the nightmares about to unleash on the little filly, using deception to hurt her more.

A high-pitched scream suddenly rung through the area. Discord and Screwball were blasted off their hammock, ending up twenty feet away from their original position. Out of the bushes approached something Luna wasn't expecting. She was staring at a mirrored image of herself and her sister. Problem was, these were obviously nightmares. Both Celestia and the other Luna had demonic, glowing red eyes and sharp, meat-eating teeth.

The nightmare Celestia and Luna trotted over to Discord and Screwball, their steps demon-like and unnatural, similar to a glitched video game character. They gave a long, hissing laugh when they came upon the two, smiling and showing off their fangs.

"What should we do with them?" The other Luna asked, her voice echoey and fear-inducing.

"Turn the mismatched one into stone, obviously," Celestia replied, her voice similar to her companion's, "Then leave the filly to suffer without him!"

"Wonderful idea!" The nightmare Luna hissed in agreement. The two turned to face Discord and Screwball, their horns charging up with pitch-black magic; the magic of the Nightmare Forces. Luna wouldn't stand to see it anymore. She undid the invisibility spell and dive bombed the two nightmares, making herself known by using her Royal Canterlot Voice.

"LEAVE THIS DREAM, FOUL BEASTS! OR WE SHALL VANQUISH THEE!"

Immediately, the nightmares hissed in aggravation before disappearing and ending the dream. Luna was thrust out of the dream by force, ending up back at the motel room. She looked down at the Screwball, who had woken up and was already crying into her father's chest, also causing him to wake.

"What happened?" Questioned Discord, seeing Luna's surprised look and Screwball crying.

"Why didn't you tell me her nightmares were getting bad?" Luna questioned with heavy fury in her voice, "The Nightmare Forces almost took every ounce of Screwball's life left! She could have died!"

"I didn't know anything about them until yesterday!" Discord argued back, "And what do you mean 'died'? No one's ever died from a nightmare!"

"-that isn't induced by the Nightmare Forces," Luna corrected, "They prey upon ponies' deepest fear, slowly sapping away their power until they're dead. If they aren't destroyed, they continue to drain all the power out of a pony until that pony has no more power. It's how they work! Screwball's fear of losing you was so great that it was a feast for the Nightmare Forces!"

"Why didn't you tell me this earlier?!"

"Because I didn't know they were getting this bad! They could possibly be the cause of her sickness!"

"Stop it!" Cried Screwball, taking a moment to look up from crying, "Stop fighting! You're not helping any of us by fighting! Go away!"

Discord glanced up at Luna, his expression hardening, "You heard the girl. Leave."

Luna growled, "You don't understand, those nightmares are incredibly dangerous! She must be protected from them at all costs!"

"I'll take care of that. You in the mean time can leave us."

Luna seemed reluctant, but she quietly trotted back over to her bed. She laid down, turning on her side with her back to Discord and Screwball. She could see Fluttershy's blue-green eyes peeping out from under the blanket. It was obvious that she had been woken up by the quarrel.

"What's wrong?" The timid mare asked.

"Nothing, dear Fluttershy" Luna dismissed, "Me and Discord just had a little... Arguement over Screwball's safety."

"Why? Is something wrong?"

"Her nightmares are dangerous, induced by the Nightmare Forces. I luckily scared them away, but there's no guarantee that they won't return again."

"Oh my. Will she be alright?"

"If that smart aleck Discord knows what he's doing..."

The two quieted down, though Discord and Screwball were making lots of noise. The purple filly was still crying with the recent bad dream. Her father was attempting to comfort her, sitting up and hugging her.

"Easy now," He said gently, stroking the filly's mane, "It was just a bad dream. Don't listen to what Poona said; she doesn't know anything."

"But... But..." Stuttered the purple pony, hiding her face in her father's fur, "It... I-it was so real!"

"But a dream is only a dream," Explained Discord in a surprisingly wise tone, "It can't come alive and hurt you. Whatever you saw was a figment of your wild imagination and will never happen to either of us."

"But..." Screwball started to objected.

"Shh," The spirit whispered, laying the filly down, "Sleep. We both need it. Don't worry about another nightmare."

"I can't sleep after what happened!" Screwball cried, hiding her face with her hooves, "What if it happens again? I'm really scared, daddy!"

"Do you want a lullaby?" Her father questioned, hoping that she would say no.

Screwball seemed to perk up at this suggestion, "Yes! That will help me get to sleep!"

Discord sighed, obviously regretting his suggestion, "Alright. Come here."

The filly climbed into her father's arms. He cradled her like a newborn, careful to support her head and upper body. He couldn't stand doing this and would rather just use hypnosis or a sleeping spell, but this was his daughter; his pride and joy. He was going to give her the best he could.

"Could you do the one that you made just for me?" Screwball asked expectantly, looking up at her father's deformed face.

"Which one? The one about the exploding cheese or the one about protecting you?"

"Since when was the one about the exploding cheese a lullaby? The other one, silly!"

"I wash hoping you'd say the exploding cheese..." Discord groaned. He cleared his throat, "Alright, here goes."

Luna was listening the whole time. She knew that Discord cared deeply about his daughter, but enough to stoop so low as to sing a child's lullaby? That was severely out of character for him.

However, as Discord began singing, Luna was surprised to hear that he wasn't that bad of a singer, being a spirit of disharmony and all. She couldn't get a mental grip around the words of the lullaby though, for there seemed to be some sort of magic blocking her ability to hear the words. Probably Discord thought his song was cheesy and didn't want her or Fluttershy to hear the words.

Surprisingly though, Luna found herself falling asleep to Discord's gentle singing, as if she was the one being sung to. She yawned and closed her eyes, forgetting about the frightening events of the night and simply rested against her pillow.

For little Screwball, she was already asleep by the time Discord hit the second verse. He stopped middle way in the song and simply took the time to look over the filly cradled in his arms. He smiled a little, seeing her using his fur as a cozy blanket to keep her body warm. To him, she was the most beautiful thing he had ever created.

Learning that something was trying to cause harm, to split them apart, made anger boil inside of him. That reminded Discord that he had to make sure those "Nightmare Courses", or whatever Luna had called them didn't come back. If they were really the cause of his daughter's sickness, he would become the Nightmare's nightmare, so to speak.

He laid Screwball down, making sure not to wake her from her slumber. His claw began glowing a gentle gold as he placed it to the filly's head, purging any remaining dark forces in her head. It worked, for Screwball seemed to relax and her fur brightened a little. Still, Discord could sense the Red Death in her system, eating away at her remaining life. At least Celestia's medicine, the poison joke, and his own magic was holding it back, keeping it from taking her.

Discord yawned and looked at the clock on the wall. It read_ 6:09_ _A.M_, meaning that the sun would be coming up in a few minutes and Discord would have to get up and continue his cliché journey to save his daughter. He decided he would get a couple more hours of sleep at least, laying down beside his daughter. Discord pulled the blanket over the both of them and pulled Screwball close to himself. She wasn't nearly as cold as she was last night, but her forehead was still hot.

He sighed, resuming his worried musing until it eventually put him to sleep.

* * *

**In case you're wondering, there's going to be many more fluffy Daddy Discord moments like this. I hope it doesn't give you cuteness diabeetes! Anyways, leave a review, because I'm that type of person who gets super excited just seeing one review!**


	6. The Ambush

"Discord. Discord!"

Discord moaned, pushing the prodding hooves of Princess Luna away. He rolled over on his side away from the Alicorn, hoping that she would leave him alone.

"Discord, the sun has risen," Luna spoke, pushing against Discord's back, "We must leave."

Finally, after much poking and prodding, the spirit was roused along with little Screwball. They packed up their stuff and were already off.

For some strange reason, Screwball asked to ride on Luna's back instead of with her trusted father. Luna didn't object to this, seeing as though she was gaining the trust of the filly. Despite having to carry her lugage, the princess gladly let Screwball ride on her.

As Ralneigh began to melt into the distance, the land below them became filled with trees again. Luna and Fluttershy flew foward, but for some odd reason, Discord hung back behind them. Screwball was surprisingly talkative on this trip.

"I want to thank both of you," Screwball began, "For going through all the trouble to save me. You've already saved me twice; Fluttershy chasing off the cockatrice and Luna destroying the nightmares."

Fluttershy was the first to respond, "It's no trouble. We know how much your father loves you and we don't want to see him lose you."

"I've grown somewhat attached to you as well, my dear," Luna added, "You remind me of your father when he was younger, before he..." She trailed off.

"Went coo-coo?" Finished Screwball.

Luna chuckled, "I suppose you could put it like that."

"We want you to know that we'll do everything we can to get that Phoenix Flower," Fluttershy continued, "You may not be blood relatives to us, but you're still family."

"Almost as a little sister." Luna said, smiling a little. She pouted immediately afterwards, "I have always had an elder sibling who bosses me around... Not that I would boss you around! I..."

Screwball giggled, "I know what you mean, Auntie Luna. Thanks."

The Alicorn's smile returned, "You are welcome."

Screwball paused for a moment, "How do you know my daddy loves me so much?"

Fluttershy and Luna both seemed confused at this question.

"Why do you ask?" The butter-colored pegasus inquired.

"Because sometimes I think my daddy is embarrassed to be around me," The little filly replied, playing with Luna's mesmerizing mane of stars, "I mean... When we do fun things together, we usually do them alone when nopony else is around to see. He doesn't like sleeping with me if we're in a public place, like your palace... And he hates singing lullabies to me. He only sung for me last night when I almost died from a nightmare."

"Discord is not as affectionate as most creatures," Luna replied wisely, "Though what I have seen contradicts what you say. He spoils you rotten, Screwball. You should be thankful."

Screwball looked down at the passing scenery below, "I guess it's cool to have the spirit of chaos as your daddy. He can do lots of cool things and make the toys I want appear out of thin air. Or he can brainwash the bully on the playground to hit himself repeatedly!" She giggled darkly, which eeriely reminded both Luna and Fluttershy of Discord's laugh.

"Just remember, your daddy does care for you," Fluttershy reminded, "He wouldn't be going to Mount Cinder to find the cure for your disease if he didn't love you."

"Fluttershy speaks wise words," Luna agreed, "Your father values you over every cotton candy cloud or chaotic creation he has made."

Screwball looked down, "Yeah, you're right. I should stop worrying so much. My daddy loves me!"

"That's right!" Fluttershy replied, "Always remember that!"

For the rest of the way, the four travelers were silent. About two hours into the flight, Luna stopped abruptedly.

"We need to stop traveling in the air." She said in a serious tone. She pointed to a sandstone canyon a couple miles off to the west, "That's changeling territory. Keep going in the western direction and you will end up at their Hive."

"May I ask, why is it important that we travel on the ground?" Fluttershy asked.

"The changelings are extremely hostile to other creatures," Luna explained, "They will be able to spot us if we travel in the air, but hopefully not so much if we travel on land. If they spot us, they will attack us and possibly try to capture us for... Feeding purposes."

Fluttershy gulped, "I don't want to know anymore."

Not wanting to attract the attention of the changelings, they dropped to the ground. It felt good to give their tired wings a rest after flying for so long.

"Once we pass the changeling Hive, it will only be a few more miles until we hit the Crystal Mountain range," Luna continued, "There, we just look for Mount Cinder."

"Oh good," Discord sighed after being silent for so long, "I am beyond happy that we're almost done with this."

Luna and Fluttershy ignored the spirit's negative comment. They began walking, avoiding vines and thorns that grew on the trees and ground. While they were walking, Screwball rejoined her father, apparently finding Luna and Fluttershy boring. It appeared that last night's medicine had worn off on the little filly, for she looked sickly and tired again.

An interesting conversation was struck up between the filly and her father while they were walking.

"Daddy?" Asked Screwball, her voice sounding weak again.

Discord glanced down at the filly in his arms, smiling as he did, "Yes?"

"Do you love me?"

For a quick moment, Discord appeared to be apalled by the question. Fortunately, his kind smile returned as quickly as it had disappeared, "Now what kind of question is that? Of course I love you. Wherever did you get the idea that I didn't love you?"

Screwball refused to look at her father, "Because... Never mind, it's silly."

"Come on," Her father insisted, "You can tell me."

"No I can't." Screwball sighed.

"Tell me," Commanded Discord, his tail suddenly darting out from behind him and right above the filly, "Or I will tickle you!"

For a moment, Screwball stared in horror at the white fluff on the tip of her father's tail hovering above her stomach. If she said no, the fluff would tickle her vulnerable tummy without mercy. The worst part about this was that Discord wouldn't stop tickling her until he got the info he wanted.

So she cracked, "I sometimes think that you're embarrassed by me. That's why I asked."

Discord didn't answer for a long time, mainly because Screwball was right. He did feel embarrassed when he had to be fatherly around Screwball with other ponies watching him. He didn't want to upset her if he told her the truth, so he told a little white lie.

"I am certainly not embarrassed by you, my dear," Replied Discord, "Whoever gave you that idea is dead wrong. If I have anything to be embarrassed about, it's being dragged into doing good by a wimpy pegasus." He faked a cough, managing to stick the word "Fluttershy" in during his cough.

"Huh?" Questioned the clueless yellow mare, who turned around to face them.

"The point is," Continued Discord, brushing Screwball's mane out of her face, "And forgive me for sounding like a corny romance movie, but I love you. Always will. You're my most beloved creation, and don't you forget it!"

The filly giggled, having her tummy tickled just a little by her father, "Okay. At least now I know how you feel!"

There was another hour of a long silence. The sun was beginning to set, forcing Luna to raise the moon once again. They took this as a sign to stop and set up camp.

"Shouldn't we get out of the changeling's territory?" Questioned a slightly scared Fluttershy.

"As long as we stay out of their inner territory they shouldn't attack," Luna explained, "They also have scouts and guards that roam the area, but only the inner territory. We cannot set up a fire, for fear it will attract their attention. We should be safe."

"_Should?_"

"Changelings have poor eyesight but an acute sense of smell and hearing. We must stay in one spot and be quiet so that they don't find us."

Luna began to set up her tent while Discord set up his. Fluttershy and Screwball sat together at their would-be fire pit.

"You were right." Screwball broke silence.

Fluttershy turned to the filly, raising an eyebrow as she did, "About what?"

"My daddy does love me, no matter what. I was silly to think otherwise."

"You aren't silly. A lot of children sometimes think that their parents don't love them. I know I sometimes thought that, but it turned out just to be a silly thought. My parents loved me with all their heart. Discord loves you with all his heart, even before when he was an evil monst-"

Screwball suddenly stood up, looking as though she wanted to punch Fluttershy in the face. Rage flashed through her features, a scowl growing on her usually happy face, "Finish that sentence, pony. I dare you."

_Bad choice of words_, Fluttershy thought. She cleared her throat and tried again, "I'm... I'm sorry. I didn't mean to call your father that name. He isn't the M-word, especially after I've seen him with you. I shouldn't call him that at all!"

Screwball suddenly settled down, "No, I'm sorry. It's just that my daddy gets called an evil monster just because of how he looks. Some of the other ponies are like that with me too because they see my eyes, or how I can use magic without a horn. It makes me so mad! My daddy isn't a monster and neither am I!" She sniffled, "I'm not..."

Fluttershy scooted closer to the filly, hoping to comfort her, "I'm sorry Screwball. I absolutely did not mean to call your father a monster. You aren't a monster either; not even close! You are a beautiful young mare with much to look foward in life."

Screwball wiped the tears streaming down her face, "Even with my eyes and my magic?"

"That just makes you unique. Ponies are mean sometimes when another is unique." A flashback came to Fluttershy, remembering her days of flight school, "Did you know I got bullied because I was afraid of heights?"

Screwball giggled, "A pegasus? Afraid of heights?"

"I know it's silly, but I was terrified of heights. In fact, I found my home on the ground where I could be with my animal friends. I know I was destined to live life on the ground instead of in the air with other pegasi," Fluttershy pointed to her flank which was marked with three pink butterflies, "See? When I realized that, this appeared! I got my cutie mark by learning that I was not made for the air, but for the ground."

"At least you have a normal cutie mark story." Screwball groaned. She pointed to her flank which was marked with a screw and a ball, "Y'know how I got this?"

Fluttershy was afraid to ask, "Um... How?"

"Playing baseball-"

_What a relief_, "Oh, that's great!"

"Hang on! You didn't let me finish. I played baseball... But I used my magic to drive all the other players insane. My daddy used to play mind games with the ponies when he got bored. I... Kinda followed him when I played baseball. That's when this thing appeared, reminding me that I'm a freak and an outcast."

"You are not!" Argued Fluttershy with a surprising amount of force for her, "Don't you ever say something like that, Screwball. You are not a freak and an outcast. You are gorgeous inside and outside. Forget the things you did in the past! That's the past, and you shouldn't worry about it."

Screwball smiled a little, "Thank you, Auntie Fluttershy."

Their conversation ended quickly when Discord came over and picked the filly up against her will.

"Sorry to interrupt," He apologized, "But it's getting late. We've still got a long way to go before we get to Mount Cinder, and I-... I mean, we need all the rest we can get."

Fluttershy smiled, "Okay. Goodnight."

The father and daughter quickly retired to their tent, leaving Fluttershy by herself. Luna walked over, sitting next to the pegasus.

"I see you and Screwball are getting along quite well," Said the princess, "I envy you. I'm still not entirely sure if she trusts me."

"She asked to ride on your back though," Fluttershy reminded, "I don't think she would have asked if she didn't trust you."

Luna nodded, smiling a bit, "I suppose you are right. But I still must keep working at it. If this filly is going to be in the palace a lot, I should at least get on her friendly side. Maybe Screwball can help me get along better with Discord, considering we don't have a very... Friendly relationship."

"What about Princess Celestia?" Questioned Fluttershy, "I'm pretty sure Screwball doesn't trust her one bit."

"It's true," Luna replied, sighing sadly, "Because of what we did to her father so long ago, she has refused to accept me or my sister. I... Seem to have changed her mind about me, but I'm not so sure about my sister. Let's just hope she doesn't stereotype all princesses into being snobs."

"I think she trusts me pretty well," Fluttershy stated absentmindedly, "I mean... I guess she has a reason. I was the only one of the Element bearers that accepted Discord. My friends however..."

Luna laid a hoof on Fluttershy's shoulder, "Let us not worry about it anymore. We shall cross that bridge when we get to it. For now, you should get some sleep."

Fluttershy yawned, "I guess you're right..." She pushed herself up and began walking towards her tent, "Goodnight, Princess Luna."

Luna herself stifled a yawn, "Have sweet dreams." She glanced over at Discord and Screwball's tent, wondering how they were doing.

* * *

Once again, Discord found himself repeating the nightly ritual ever since Screwball fell ill. He put the leaf of a poison joke in the medicine, enchanted it with his magic, and shook it up before giving it to Screwball. Since she had complained about the taste, Discord had added a little something to it in order to make it slightly more delectable.

"It taste like cotton candy." The filly stated, seeming quite surprised.

Discord chuckled lightly, "I thought you might like it. After all, you've been eating the stuff since you were yea big." He used emphasis by shrinking himself down to about half-a-foot tall.

This caused Screwball to giggle, lightening the melancholy mood. However, the mood became heavy once again when the filly had a violent fit of coughing before moaning painfully. Discord returned to normal size, feeling her forehead to check her temperature. He examined her body to see that she was more pale than she had ever been before. The filly was also shivering, unable to warm her body with the loss of her blood.

"Oh Screwball," The spirit sighed gently, "I'm sorry you have to go through all this junk. The sickness, the cockatrice, the Nightmare Sources...-"

Screwball immediately interrupted him, "Don't be sorry, daddy. It's not your fault!"

Her father smiled, "Thank you, Screwball."

The purple pony yawned, her eyelids starting to droop. Discord took this as a sign to wrap his long body around the filly in hopes of keeping her warm. Screwball didn't object to this, because she promptly found her way to Discord's chest where it was the warmest. She yawned before settling down, letting the sound of her father's erratic heartbeat put her to sleep.

Discord himself was getting sleepy. He wanted to sleep, but his worrying wouldn't let him. He wanted to see if Luna would watch over Screwball while he slept, but he figured she wouldn't want to after last night's fiasco.

That was another reason he couldn't sleep. What if the Nightmare Forces came back for Screwball again? If they dared to hurt his little girl again, he would show them what a real nightmare looked like. That wasn't the only threat that bothered him either. If the changelings somehow managed to find and attack them, Discord would teach them a lesson they soon wouldn't forget. He really was not in the mood to deal with any more slowdowns while on their way to Mount Cinder.

Discord yawned, pushing his thoughts away. He looked down at the filly resting in his arms and smiled.

"We'll be okay," He reassured himself and the filly, despite that she was fast asleep, "I can promise you that, my dear."

* * *

The darkness in the forest made it impossible to see anything. The moon's light was completely blocked out, almost making it pitch-black dark. There were no sounds, except for the chirping of crickets and the hooting of owls.

"Quit pushing me, you moron!" A raspy male voice hissed, scaring a couple of roosting birds out of the trees.

"Well, you stop pushing me!" Another voice argued back, similar to the first voice though slightly higher pitched.

"I despise going on patrol with you, Viper. Gods, you are so stupid! Were you dropped on your head as a cocoon?"

"As a matter of fact, I was! At least I'm not a kisser-upper to the Queen like you are, Toxic!"

"You take that back!"

A loud _crack_ was heard, as two creatures stumbled out of the bushes and into a clearing. The first one had a jet black coat, the wings of an insect, pure-blue eyes, and hole-filled legs. It also had fangs hanging out of its mouth and a short mane and tail. The second one was similar, except it was much more scrawny than the first one.

"You are a total disgrace to the changelings, Viper!" Toxic hissed, "Why hasn't the Queen kicked you out yet?"

"Oh shut up!" Viper argued back, baring his fangs, "You're just a goody-two-shoes, always trying to make yourself look better in front of the higher-ups! You know what? I-"

"Shhh!" Toxic shushed, covering the mouth of his buddy with a holey hoof before pointing to something in the distance, "Look."

Viper looked closer, discovering two tents hiding among the bushes, "Looks like we got some clueless campers! Let's take 'em!"

Toxic growled, "No, you dolt! We have to be stealthy. Let's see who the heck these ponies are before we attack. We need to find out if they're even worthy of being feasted upon."

Viper clapped like an idiotic seal, "Yeah yeah! Good idea, buddy!"

With that, they began stalking closer to the camp.

* * *

Luna sat on a stump, seeming quite lonely. She stared wistfully at the stars above her, feeling somewhat homesick. Even though she had been away from home longer than this before, she still missed her sister, her castle, her bed...

The princess was beginning to feel tired. She had to stay awake though, in case of any unexpected ambushes by the changelings. If she fell asleep, they would easily attack and capture them with little to no effort.

Luna's ears perked. She heard something behind her, causing her to whip around and look deep into the darker areas of the forest. Nothing was there except for trees and bushes.

"I must be imagining things..." The Alicorn told herself. She continued to look up at the night sky above her, taking pride in its beauty.

The fur on the back of Luna's neck stood on end. There it was again; that strange noise. She stood up fearlessly, facing the direction of which the noise was coming from.

"Who is there?" Questioned the princess firmly, but not to the point of using her Royal Canterlot Voice, "Show yourself now."

Nothing came foward. This relieved Luna a little. She returned to her stump and continued gazing at the stars.

However, upon letting her guard completely down, she found herself bombarded with two black blurs that knocked her sideways, catching her completely off guard and making her wish she was a better watcher.

* * *

**Sorry that it had to end so abruptly. This chapter was getting pretty long for my standards and I decided to cut it here for a little cliffhanger. Yes, a cliffhanger! *insert evil laugh***

**Anyways, I hope you enjoyed! Leave some feedback if you can!**


	7. The Kidnapping

Luna wasn't sure what hit her. Whatever it was, she knew it was hostile, for the two creatures kept trying to go for the princess' neck. She quickly threw them off of her with her powerful magic. She stood up, discovering what they were.

"Changelings!" Luna growled.

The changelings ignored Luna. The first one, who was much skinnier than the other took a measly step foward, smiling smugly, "You're Princess Luna, right? Name's Viper. You free on Saturday night?"

The other changeling smacked his companion, "Not the time, Viper! Do you know how much attention we'll get from the queen if we bring 'the' Princess Luna in? She'll pamper us for an enternity!"

"You do realize that I can hear you, correct?" Luna questioned, raising an eyebrow.

"Uh..." Viper began, "You didn't hear any of Toxic's words! You... Heard... Noooothiiinnng..."

Toxic smacked his buddy again, "Let's get her!"

The changelings charged, but Luna was well prepared. She used her magic to easily throw them behind her. Unfortunately, she didn't see where she was throwing them and they both ended up crashing into Discord and Screwball's tent.

"_Hey_!" Cried the familiar voice of the spirit. His horns tore through the top of the tent, allowing his head to poke through and look around. Seeing the changelings laying on top of his tent, he glared at them, causing them both to squeal and suddenly take wing into the sky.

"What in the name of your fat sister Celestia was that all about?" Discord questioned Luna, who now looked very panicked.

"Those were changelings!" Luna exclaimed, "They will return to the Hive and gather more of their kind to attack us! We have to leave 'now'!"

"Oh joy," Moaned Discord, "Just what we need, a bunch of Cheeselegs attacking us."

Luna rushed over to pack her tent, nearly crushing the sleeping Fluttershy inside. After the princess explained to her what was going on, they immediately took flight as fast as their wings could carry them. The moon was still high in the sky, making it difficult to see where exactly they were going.

Little Screwball, who was still laying safely in her father's arms could sense the anxiety to get away in all of them. She poked Discord's chest, getting his attention.

"Daddy, what's going on?" The filly asked.

"Nothing to worry your pretty little head about," Her father assured, "We're just... In a slight rush."

"Is there something chasing us?" Screwball questioned, the fear rising in her voice.

Discord only pulled the shivering filly closer to reassure her, "Of course not, silly filly. We just need to get to where we're going faster."

Screwball didn't believe him. Whatever had fallen on their tent was something hostile and would probably return to attack again. She could only hope that they would stay safe.

* * *

The large, sandstone canyon seemed to go on for miles. However, the changelings Toxic and Viper knew their destination was just up ahead. They reached the end of the canyon; a once water-filled basin which was now filled with various, alien-like buildings.

The smaller buildings were made from mysterious black and green webbing, forming a strange type of house. In fact, the webbing was everywhere, strung up between the canyon walls, sticking to the ground, or across the entrance to the basin. The largest building was a huge, black castle with various decorations in green. It too, was covered in the webbing, seeming to hold it up and keep it from toppling.

Creatures much like Toxic and Viper roamed the area. They flew around, doing tricks in the air, sparring on the ground, or simply taking it easy. Behind the castle looked like a military boot camp, for a large group of changelings were forced to stand in perfectly straight lines while a larger changeling commander barked orders in a different language.

Toxic and Viper flew to the highest tower of the castle. They quickly climbed into the window, where they were greeted by large, wooden doors encrusted with emeralds and amethysts. The doors were guarded by two, bulky changelings holding spears in their hole-filled hooves. They pointed their spears at the two upon seeing them.

"State your business with the queen!" The first one barked.

"We come bearing important news that only the queen's ears may hear." Toxic said fearlessly, though his buddy was hiding behind him.

The two guards exchanged glances. Reluctantly they opened the doors, allowing Toxic and Viper to trot through. They closed the doors behind them, trapping the smaller changelings in.

The room inside was medium sized. The walls were also covered with the green and black webbing, as well as a few tapestries. It was mainly empty, with almost no furniture except for the black, hole-filled throne in the middle. Said throne was occupied by a large changeling, almost twice as large as the guards that stood outside. Unlike most changelings, this paticular one had a mane and tale of blueish-green. She had the same, jet-black coat, hole-filled body, fly wings, and fangs. Her horn was long and crooked, and her eyes were jade-green and slit, much like a serpant's.

The two changelings bowed at the sight of the larger changeling. Toxic was the first one to speak.

"Almighty and beautiful Queen Chrysalis," He began, "We bring important news that you may find quite interesting!"

The changeling called Chrysalis raised an eyebrow, "You both realize that you interrupted my afternoon nap, correct? I hope for your sake that this is good."

Toxic gulped while Viper hid behind him. The more mature changeling cleared his throat and continued.

"Me and my companion here were scouting around late last night. We came upon a camp on the border of our eastern territory and-"

"Did you vanquish them?" Chrysalis questioned, still seeming unamused by the presence of the two changelings.

Toxic hesitated, "Erm... No. But you will never guess who was at that camp! Go ahead! Guess!"

Chrysalis snarled, "I am already in a bad mood as it is, Toxic. I don't feel like playing another one of your guessing games."

Toxic bit his lower lip, "Princess Luna."

Chrysalis paused, her eyes lighting up with sudden interest, "Who?"

"Princess Luna. She was at the camp, as well as a strange multi-beast that ran us off. There might be more ponies, but I'm not sure."

Chrysalis suddenly stood up, a wide, toothy smile on her face, "Princess Luna? In changeling territory? What a foolish mare! We must round up a small army to attack her and bring her back to the Hive! If I can trick her and feast off of her love for... Let us say, her sister Celestia, then I shall be the most powerful creature in all of Equestria!" The changeling threw her head back and cackled maniacally to herself.

"So... Is that a yes on attacking them?" Toxic questioned.

Chrysalis rolled her eyes and replied with heavy sarcasm, "No. I want you to sit around and do nothing. Of course I want you to attack them! Round up a score of changelings and rush to attack them immediately!"

"My queen, Luna is very powerful," Toxic began, "What if we cannot take her?"

"Take whoever you can!" Chrysalis yelled, seeming quite flustered, "I'm sure whoever else is traveling with her is of great worth! She will be forced to enter my domain to rescue them!" She pointed to the door, "Now go! Bring me Princess Luna!"

* * *

Luna and Discord were extremely fast fliers, especially when they were trying to get away. Eventually, Fluttershy couldn't keep up and had to ride on Luna's back instead. Only when Luna was sure that they were out of changeling territory did they slow down.

"Even if they did send an army, they shouldn't be able to find us," Luna explained, "They will be looking inside changeling territory. We however, are safely out of the territory."

"So they won't find us?" Fluttershy questioned, seeming to be reassured.

Luna nodded, "I'm sure."

Discord however, immediately killed her optimism, "You might want to rephrase that."

Luna turned to the spirit, "Why so?"

Discord pointed to a small black cloud heading their way. When the three looked closer however, they discovered that it was a group of changelings flying in tight formation. Luna's eyes widened in fear as she took off with Discord close behind her.

It was to no avail. The changelings caught up with them and attacked. They shot to the ground, hoping to give themselves the upper hand since the changelings were quick in the air. Luna blasted changelings with her magic, Discord turned the bug-ponies into fluffy, chibi versions of themselves, and Fluttershy did her best with her Stare and some well-placed kicks, even though she kept apologizing to them afterwards.

The changelings continued to come, seemingly out of nowhere. Discord was the one keeping the battlefield leveled, for he could cast spells that would affect a dozen changelings at one time. However, the changelings seemed to sense that he was the most powerful and that he needed to be taken out first.

Three of them charged at Discord while he had his back turned. They knocked him sideways, also knocking the purple filly out of her carrier. Discord only skittered a couple feet, but Screwball flew at least a few yards and hit her head on a nearby tree, knocking her out. Her father was too caught up in fending off the changelings to get to her, or even realize that she had been knocked out of his hold in the first place.

Some other changelings that had been injured or turned into cute anime characters noticed Screwball. While Discord was occupied with fighting the other changelings, the injured bug-ponies picked her up and dragged her away into the bushes.

Eventually, the small changeling army thinned out with only a couple remaining. These last remainders saw that they couldn't win and fled the scene. Immediately, Discord, Luna, and Fluttershy took a load off, checking to see the damages from the fight.

"Are all of you alright?" Luna inquired, "No injuries?"

"I'm good," Fluttershy replied, "I think one might have nipped at my arm, but I'm okay."

"What about you, Discord?" Luna asked, attempting to bandaged a small bite mark on her arm.

Her question was left unanswered.

"Discord?" Luna insisted, this time with more force. She turned to the direction in which she thought Discord was sitting. He was gone without a trace though.

"Discord!" Fluttershy suddenly cried.

Luna glanced up, seeing Discord about ten feet in the air, looking as though he was about to take off. He turned to look at the two, pure rage etched into his features. The makeshift carrier that had once held Screwball was now empty.

"Those things," He growled in a voice that was very unlike him, "They have my Screwball!"

* * *

Screwball wasn't exactly sure what had happened. One minute she was snuggled up against her father's chest, then everything went black. She could hear some distorted voices as her vision returned to her.

Slowly, Screwball came to, discovering she was in a medium-sized room. Two of the things that Luna had called "changelings" were standing on either side of her. A very large one was standing in front of her, a very dissatisfied look on its face.

"What use is this pathetic filly?" The large changeling hissed, apparently female.

One of the changelings replied in a shaky voice, "This filly was with a strange beast of multiple animal parts. Possibly a chimera, but we can't be sure. The beast was with Luna, as well as a pegasus. We think the filly might be worth a little, at least to the monster."

Screwball stayed silent, pretending to still be knocked out. She did however, silently think to herself _You're the one to talk, cheeselegs._

"Wake the filly!" The large changeling commanded, "She will tell us who she is and who Luna's other companions are!"

Immediately, one of the changelings violently shook Screwball. They did it quite painfully, forcing her to wake. She was still laying on her belly, but she was staring quite menacingly at the large changeling.

"Puny pony," The female bug-pony began, "I am Queen Chrysalis, ruler of the changelings. Tell me who you are and who you're companions are."

Screwball pretended to be brave and sharp, much like her father, even though she was cowering on the inside, "None of your business, cheeselegs."

Immediately, Chrysalis roared, raising her hoof to almost strike the filly, but she quickly composed herself, "Don't you dare call me that name, foolish girl! Tell me who your companions are or I shall feed you to my minions!"

Seeing that she had no choice, Screwball broke, not wanting to be fed to the "cheeselegs", "My name is Screwball. I was with Princess Luna, Fluttershy, and my daddy." She crossed her little hooves in front of her chest and pouted, "Can I go back now?"

"Kinda figured that was her name by the butt tattoo." One of the changelings snickered rudely.

"Silence, Viper!" Hissed Chrysalis. She turned back to Screwball, "Who is this... _Daddy_?"

Screwball was silent.

"_Tell me_!" Screamed the queen, her horn glowing a violent shade of green.

"He's Discord!" Screwball quickly shouted back, "Now let me go back to them!"

Chrysalis bared her fangs, "You do not make the orders here, girl! I-" She suddenly stopped herself from yelling and got an idealistic look in her eyes, "Wait. Did you say... Discord? As in the spirit of chaos?"

Screwball frowned, "Yeah. What are you the spirit of? Moldy cheese?"

Chrysalis was not amused in the least, "Arrgh! I am tired of that joke!" She snarled to the changeling called Viper, "I am tired of dealing with this little brat! Take her to the dungeons!"

Viper saluted, quickly dragging the filly out of the throne room, leaving just the other changeling and Chrysalis.

"Toxic!" The queen called.

Toxic quickly appeared at her side, "Yes, my queen?"

"I want you to take all the sentries down." Chrysalis began.

Toxic was shocked, "B-but your highness! If I'm not mistaken, Discord is incredibly powerful, even more so than the princesses combined! And if that Curveball brat really is his daughter, he's going to be raging mad! We need all the guards we can get!

"Don't worry," Replied the queen, giving the smaller changeling a fanged smile, "For I will take care of Discord."

* * *

**Hopefully this chapter isn't too boring and short. Sorry for the long wait too! I apologize because I've been busy and unmotivated. I hope you enjoy, and stick around for more!**


	8. A Side of Exploding Changelings

Luna and Fluttershy could barely keep up with Discord. He had to be flying over one hundred miles an hour, if even that. He refused to stop, not even to make sure that Luna and Fluttershy were behind him.

"Discord!" Cried Luna, attempting to catch up with the spirit ahead of her, "Slow down! I must speak to you!"

"No time for talking!" Discord yelled back, "I'm about to show a certain Queen Cheeselegs what it feels like to have her children taken away from her!"

"You're going to kill them?!" Fluttershy asked in outrage, "Discord, that's cruel! You can't possibly do that!"

"She is right!" Luna agreed, "You can't possibly bring yourself to kill an entire race of creatures!"

Discord abruptedly stopped and turned to face the two mares. Clearly he was beyond furious, almost to the point of where his red eyes looked as though they were literally blazing with fire.

"Oh, I wouldn't kill them," He said cooly, "Too quick. I'll make them pay veeeeery slowly for taking my Screwball away from me." He almost took off again, but Luna grabbed his tail with her magic.

"Discord, you can not just barge into the changeling's Hive without a plan," She began as calmly as she could, "I realize you are very angry with them for taking Screwball, but you must be calm about these kind of things. Changelings are like bees or ants, able to communicate just with smells or simple body movements. They can all gang up on you at once and capture you before you even realize it."

"But you're forgetting who I am," Discord replied, seeming to get even angrier, "I can make those changelings wish they were never born! I'll turn them into defenseless puppies with no teeth or claws! Or I'll brainwash them into doing the Cupid Shuffle! I will make their lives miserable until that Queen Cheeselegs gives me my daughter back!" He started to rush off again, but Luna stopped him to his dismay.

"We need stealth," She argued, "We must not let the changelings attack us all at once. There's too many, and we'll never survive against them."

Discord scoffed, "Puh-lease. Once I show them who they're messing with, they'll back off. I know what I'm doing." For the umpteenth time, he started to fly off, and for the umpteenth time, Luna grabbed him.

"_No_ you do not," She growled, "We should at least disguise ourselves as changelings, just to blend in. If they figure out it's us, _then_ you may do whatever you please to them until we get Screwball."

"May I put in something?" Fluttershy interrupted. Upon getting their attention, the two immortals turned to her, "Maybe we can... Befriend them?"

For a moment, Discord and Luna stared at her. They then looked at each other, rude smiles growing on their face before they bursted into loud cackles that the whole forest could hear.

"Oh! That's a good one!" Laughed Discord, doubling over from laughing so hard, "Befriending changelings?! Hahaha! You'd have better luck befriending a manticore!"

Fluttershy frowned, "For your information, I _have_ befriended a manticore." She gave Discord a deadly serious face, almost as though she was using her Stare, "I've also befriended a certain spirit of chaos who everypony said would be impossible to befriend."

Luna stopped laughing, "She's actually quite right."

Discord became serious, ignoring Fluttershy all together, "We'll go with Luna's plan to disguise ourselves as changelings and sneak in. I refuse to befriend creatures who take my only child away from me."

With that, the conversation ended. As they flew, Discord became increasingly worried and scared. His thoughts started to run wild as to what the changelings could possibly be doing to his Screwball.

_What if they somehow turned her into a changeling? _The sprit thought to himself, _What if they brainwashed her into forgetting me completely? What if that witch Chrysalis disguised herself as me and is feeding off of Screwball's love for me? What if she dies of her sickness?_

Discord tried to shake the thoughts away and replace them with hope. He hoped that Screwball would stay safe until he could save her and get her away from the changelings. Just the thoughts of her, alone, terrified, cold, and wanting her daddy made him on the verge of tears.

He had to get there, and he had to get there _now_.

* * *

Being locked in the dungeon, Screwball expected the worst. Viper the changeling however, made everything much better.

He was a complete goofball. Even though he was supposed to be keeping his full attention on guarding the cell and not interacting with Screwball, he still talked to her about random things. Unfortunately, that changed when Viper had to shift out with a guard who refused to even acknowledge Screwball. Thus, she curled up in the corner and consulted her thoughts.

Viper had made Screwball forget about her predicament and fears for a little while. But as she sat in that corner, she realized that she was truly alone now. She didn't have her father, Auntie Luna, Fluttershy, or heck, even a silly changeling buddy to talk to. She started to feel scared.

_What will Chrysalis do with me? _She started to think, _Will she keep me hidden away from my daddy and my friends forever? Will she somehow manipulate me into giving her power through love?_

_Will she kill me?_

Screwball shivered. She could almost feel the Red Death seeping deeper into her body, killing her slowly. Discord had just given her the medicine a couple hours ago and it was already wearing off, signaling that the sickness was soon to reach its peak. According to Luna's calculations, they would have already been at Mount Cinder if it weren't for the changelings. She would have already been cured and happily playing with her daddy.

Anger started to boil in Screwball's usual calm mind. These changelings ruined everything. She was possibly going to die thanks to them. She wanted her father to turn every last one of them into ants so she could crush them. Alas, her father was miles away, possibly already captured by the changelings.

The mere thought of her father made her start to cry. Even though Screwball had only been apart from her creator for less than an hour, just that much reminded her of all the years she sat beside his stone prison. All those years she longed to have him return, to no longer be lonely and vulnerable. She was near to him, yet completely separated.

Even now, Screwball missed her father, so much so she began weeping. Ever since he had been allowed to be completely free, they were inseparable. That had been nearly a year ago, and she still refused to go anywhere without knowing he was close to her.

Screwball tried to cheer herself up with happy thoughts of herself and her beloved father. Like the day when she came to the palace sculpture gardens -as she did every night since Discord was turned to stone- only to discover that he had been set free from his prison. They embraced each other, both crying tears of joy for a good thirty minutes before Discord explained why he was free and introduced her to Fluttershy for the first time. Screwball didn't really care about the reason, or that she couldn't enjoy the chaos her father used to create. She only cared that Discord was with her, protecting and watching over her.

After the big, joyous sob fest that Screwball and her father shared, Fluttershy took them back to her cottage to stay the night. Later that same evening, she had the privilege of sleeping with her parent; a privilege that most kids rarely received. She was still quite terrified, despite the events of the night, so Discord sang her a lullaby until she fell asleep. He stayed right beside her all through the night, reassuring her that he was still there whenever she woke up crying in the middle of the night.

The very next day, they spent the entire day playing in Fluttershy's backyard, teasing and tormenting her animals or messing with the plants and weather in that small area. Eventually, Fluttershy was a killjoy and told them to stop. Still, it was possibly the best day of her life and continued to be until she fell sick a few days ago.

Now huddled up in the corner of her dungeon cell, attempting to use the changeling's decorative goop to keep her warm, Screwball felt as though those luxuries were millions of miles away. She started to cry again, even though those memories were supposed to be joyful ones.

_Please hurry, daddy._ She silently prayed before returning to the struggle of keeping herself warm.

* * *

Standing on the edge of the canyon wall, overlooking the changelings' city was Discord, Luna, and Fluttershy. They decided to have a look around before the snuck in. Surprisingly, there were no changelings. Either they had left, or they were hiding out, waiting to ambush them

"It's quiet." Fluttershy broke silence.

"Too quiet." Luna added.

Discord was too busy glancing around, searching for any sight of his beloved daughter. He was clearly on high alert, as his wings were outstretched, his ears were perked, and his eyes showed no sign of tiredness from the past journey. Lowering himself down to all four legs, he turned to Luna and Fluttershy.

"Are you two ready?" He questioned.

The two mares were a little slow in answering. They did eventually answer with a small nod.

Discord's form quickly morphed, changing into a changeling with bright red eyes. Luna followed, changing herself into a changeling with dark blue eyes, and casting a spell to turn Fluttershy into a changeling with green eyes.

"Let's hope we can get in and out without having to turn changelings into moldy cheese." Discord muttered. He and his two companions leapt off the edge, flying towards the large, ebony and emerald castle.

* * *

Screwball was awoken by a loud female voice screaming at her.

"Get up, you pathetic filly!"

The "pathetic filly" roused herself. Painfully, she turned on her left side to get a good look at the bars of her cell. She was so weak that she could barely even lift her head to look up. She could however make out the tall and slender form of Queen Chrysalis standing right outside her cell.

"You," The large changeling hissed, "Get over here. Now."

Screwball didn't have much of a choice. She crawled over to the bars of her cell with many painful moans and groans. She sat up as best as she could and looked up at the queen with red eyes that were still wet from tears.

"I thought you might like to know something of great importance," Chrysalis began with a friendly smile that was clearly fake, "Your father has entered my domain."

Screwball's eyes lit up with childish innocence as a smile grew on her face, "Really?!"

"Yes indeed," Continued Chrysalis, "Unfortunately, he will not be leaving with you. Not the true you anyway."

For a moment, Screwball was confused as to what the queen was saying. Suddenly, it became clear when the changeling's body lit up with green. She took on a completely different form as the light engulfed her. When it faded away, Screwball gasped and nearly burst into tears again.

She was staring at a mirrored image of herself. This other Screwball had the same purple-pink coat, same purple and white mane, even the same propeller cap. The only thing different was the eyes, which were Chrysalis' bright green, reptilian eyes. She quickly blinked to fix this however, changing her eyes to match Screwball's signature, constantly spiraling eyes.

"He shall be leaving with me!" Chrysalis laughed. Even her voice was the exact same.

The real Screwball bursted into tears and began shouting at the changeling queen, "No! You can't do that! He's _my_ daddy!"

"I can, and I will," Hissed the queen, reverting back to her original, raspy and echoey voice, "He must love you enough to come for you, so his love for you shall be a feast! His powers will make me the most powerful creature in all of Equestria!" An evil, fanged smile crossed the fake Screwball's face, "And you, my dear, are going to watch the horror unfold yourself."

The real Screwball found herself flung to the wall. The sticky goop surrounded her and forced her to stay stuck to the wall. A magical green orb appeared in front of her, showing a perfectly clear image of the fake Screwball who was standing outside of her cell. Due to the way the goop was stuck to her, Screwball couldn't turn her head and look away.

"Enjoy the show, dear!" Sang Chrysalis as she happily skipped away and down the dungeon hall.

"Don't you dare hurt my daddy!" Screwball screamed at the top of her lungs, despite that Chrysalis was long gone. Her fear rose, realizing that Chrysalis was going to sap all of her father's power away. She might possibly try to even brainwash him into forgetting who his own daughter was, just to hurt her further.

Screwball struggling against her restraints, despite her aching body. Her efforts proved fruitless, for the sticky webbing was too strong. She watched the green orb floating in front of her with tears in her eyes. That wicked witch Chrysalis was happily skipping down the halls of the changeling Hive, disguised as Screwball.

The true Screwball's father was going to be stolen away from her again. This time, there was no guarantee that she would get him back.

* * *

Discord, Luna, and Fluttershy had to act natural. Though Discord wanted to rush into the changeling Hive and search the very nooks and crannies for Screwball, Luna insisted that they stay calm and cool so to not attract attention.

Upon approaching the front doors, Luna was getting very supicious. She had not seen even one measly changeling for the whole time they had been there. There were no guards at the front doors either, something that Luna found too supicious.

"Where are they?" Fluttershy asked quietly, "I mean... Not that I want them to come out or anything..."

"I do not know," Luna replied, an edge of weariness in her usual confident voice, "They seem to have all disappeared..."

Discord gently pushed open the front door which creaked loudly. Slowly but surely, the three made their way into the central hub of the Hive. It was a huge domed centerpiece with an emerald-colored floor and walls of ebony. Millions and millions of entrances surrounded them, all leading to who knows where. Still, no changelings were to be found.

"Oh great," Discord moaned quietly, "Now how are we supposed to find her?"

"Umm..." Fluttershy interrupted, pointing to one of the lower entrances, "Is that her?"

Luna and Discord turned to where the butter-colored pegasus was pointing to. Standing in the doorway was the familiar purple-pink filly, looking around with a worried expression.

"Screwball?" Discord questioned. His expression turned into pure joy, "Oh Screwball! It is you!"

Immediately, he changed back to his original form and ran to embrace the filly who immediately jumped into his arms. Luna and Fluttershy joined with him, also changing back to their original forms.

"Daddy!" Cried Screwball, hugging her father's neck, "You're here! You're really here!"

"Of course I am, my little one," Spoke Discord gently, refusing to stop hugging the filly, "I would never leave you here with these filthy cheeselegs." He held her out at arm's length and examined her, "Now did those walking pieces of moldy cheese hurt you?"

"No daddy," Screwball replied with a sweet smile; a little too sweet, "I'm okay now that you're here!"

As Discord hugged his child again, Screwball had her head lying on his shoulder where Fluttershy could clearly see her face. For only a half-second, Fluttershy thought she saw the filly's eyes light up in a green shade. Taking a moment to register what had happened, she noticed that Screwball was smiling... Very evilly.

As Discord leaned in to kiss his daughter, something sent him flying, causing him to drop Screwball in the process. When he sat back up, Fluttershy was giving the filly her Stare.

"What in the name of my sister has gotten into you, Fluttershy?!" Luna started to question in outrage.

"That's not Screwball!" The pegasus exclaimed, refusing to let up on her Stare, "It's a changeling!"

Screwball started crying, "I am not! You just don't want me to be with my daddy, you big meanie harmony-lover!"

As Discord approached back, he growled at Fluttershy, pure rage flashing through his features. He looked as though he was about to pounce on her, but Luna suddenly stopped him.

"Not so fast." The princess interrupted. She turned to the small filly sitting on the floor, "Look at her. She is not pale anymore."

Discord took a moment to look at Screwball, who suddenly looked quite frightened by the simple sight of her father.

"Why Luna..." He breathed, eyes widening in surprise, "She looks perfectly healthy!"

"She can't possibly heal herself," Luna continued, glaring daggers at "Screwball", "And I highly doubt that the changelings would even care to heal her." She turned to Screwball, "Tell me, why exactly have we come all the way out here in the first place?"

"Um..." The filly began, playing with her curly mane, "I... For fun?"

Discord was not happy with this answer. He began baring his teeth, the hackles on his back rising to make himself appear more intimadating. He raised his talon hand, which began to glow a bright golden color. Immediately, Screwball was seized by an invisible force, lifting her into the air and over to Discord. He brought her right up to his face, refusing to let up on his deep scowl.

"You," He hissed, "Are not my darling daughter."

For a moment, Screwball looked terrified. However, her expression quickly morphed to that of one who was not amused. Her body flashed green, changing back and revealing that she was not Screwball to begin with. Fluttershy and Luna gasped while Discord dropped his captive who quickly stood back up again.

"You have got me, beast," Hissed Chrysalis, "Unfortunately, your victory will not last long, for it is I who has you."

The oversized changeling gave a shout in a different language. Suddenly, the sound of a million pairs of insect wings buzzed throughout the thousands of corridors. Changelings poured out of the entrances by the hundreds, all zeroing in on the three intruders.

"Oh joy." Muttered a now dissatisfied Discord.

* * *

Screwball couldn't look at the orb that floated in front of her. She shut her eyes tightly, turning her head away as best as she could. She wouldn't stand to see her father taken away by the queen of the cheeselegs. Unfortunately, the orb also came with surround sound, allowing her to hear every word her father said to the fake Screwball.

As Screwball sat there, listening to what would be her reunited with her father, something began boiling deep in her soul. Rage. Pure, absolute rage. It was building, and fast. She felt her body getting hot, building up an unknown energy within her. In fact, Screwball felt herself get so hot that the webbing restraining her to the wall melted.

Unfortunately, that was not all the rage did. The tiny filly's body started sparking with violet electricity, causing small purple flames to suddenly start burning around her. With her strength returning, Screwball stood up, eyes glowing golden and body sparking with purple. She felt poweful, more than she ever felt in her life, as if the power of a god was coursing through her veins.

With all that pent-up energy, Screwball couldn't contain it. Beams of powerful magic started to fly from her body, hitting the walls of her cell and leaving fairly large craters within them. She bent over in pain, the energy beginning to hurt her.

She had no choice but to unleash it upon the Hive.

* * *

Changelings came from everywhere, attacking the threesome from every whichaway. Fluttershy would paralyze the changelings with her Stare before Luna blasted them with her magic or Discord turned them into various types of food.

Though the trio was powerful, they couldn't keep fighting forever. When one changeling was defeated, another quickly took its place. It didn't help that they kept swarming all over the place, making it difficult to aim spells at them.

Chrysalis didn't help either. Whenever she saw the three getting the upper hand, she quickly blasted them with her magic, completely disorienting them for a couple seconds before they were back on their feet fighting again.

Just when Discord, Luna, and Fluttershy were about to be overrun with changelings, something in the very depths of the castle began to rumble. The changelings stopped swarming, suddenly becoming confused. Even Chrysalis herself looked a little worried.

"What is that?" Fluttershy questioned timidly.

Discord didn't answer, but he knew exactly what it was. He could feel the radiating power of pure chaos magic fighting its way to the top of the Hive.

With no warning, a blast of purple rocketed its way out of one of the entrances. It expanded into a wave, hitting both the trio and the changelings. All that Discord, Luna, and Fluttershy felt was a gentle wind. The changelings however, weren't so lucky. They were hit with hurricane-force winds, blasting them clear through the walls of their Hive.

The blast was so powerful that the building around them began to collapse. Pieces of ceiling and green webbing fell from above, but it did not hurt the three travelers. They remained completely unharmed while the Hive collapsed into dust, coming apart piece by piece until there was nothing but rubble left.

The swarming changelings were gone, crushed under rubble or blown miles away. Discord, Luna, and Flutteshy however, remained completely unharmed, standing on a piece of perfectly intact floor.

For a moment, the three just stared at each other, mouths agape. They weren't sure what to make of what had just happened, other than it was a miracle.

"Well..." Luna began, "Let us take some time to be thankful for this... Event."

Discord nodded slowly, "Agreed."

"I'm glad I wasn't a changeling when it happened." Fluttershy added, timidly hiding behind Luna as she looked over the ruins of the once proudly standing changeling Hive.

* * *

**Well, here's another chapter. I hate to leave it at this, but it seemed somewhat fitting to cut the chapter off here. I was planning on only making this fic fifteen chapters at the maximum, maybe even less. But anyways, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Leave some feedback if you can!**


	9. To Mount Cinder

Picking through the rubble of the annihilated changeling Hive, Discord found nothing living but a couple of pancake-flat changelings and a few crushed birds that had the luck of getting caught in the collapsing Hive. Fluttershy and Luna were also digging around, but the search for Screwball had proved to be fruitless after half an hour.

Eventually, Discord sat down on what once was Chrysalis' throne, burying his face in his mismatched hands, "This is hopeless. That blast probably killed her by how powerful it was. She couldn't handle it."

"I don't understand," Fluttershy began, "You're making out like she destroyed the Hive."

"She did!" Exclaimed Discord. Seeing that he had caused the pegasus to flinch, he changed his tone, "I mean, she did. I could sense that the magic that destroyed the Hive was pure chaos magic. Nothing, not even the most powerful Alicorn could have conjured up something like that."

"How could such a small filly make something so powerful?" Luna questioned, still picking through the rubble, "I understand that she was made with your magic and that she is not normal, but..."

"I didn't know she could do something like that either!" The spirit cried, "I haven't taught her how to turn ponies into butterflies, much less how to conjure up a wave of pure chaos magic!"

"She must have learned it from somewhere!" Luna argued, "What if she knew this without your knowledge of it?! What if she used it on perfectly innocent ponies?!"

"Why does it matter?" Quipped Discord, crossing his arms, "I told you I taught her no such thing..." He paused, tapping his chin with his eagle claw, "Then again... There is a way to do it involuntarily..."

Luna raised an eyebrow, "Oh? Do tell."

Discord glared at the princess, "It only happened once to me when I was younger, like, back in my elementary years when I was only one hundred and five. I got really mad at this one other colt who took my lollipop... Let's just say... He and the rest of the playground participants had to go to the infirmary for a very long time."

"And she somehow managed to conjure up such magic, despite being a novice at it?"

Discord shrugged, "What can I say? She's unpredictable, just like her super sexy father."

Luna rolled her eyes, "Aren't you more concerned about finding her instead of bragging about your supposed good looks?"

"Oh. Oh! Yes of course!" Immediately, Discord returned to moving rubble so he could find Screwball. All he found were angry changelings that he had to smack with a baseball bat in order to make sure they didn't attack him.

Fluttershy had wandered off from her two companions. She had found a lower part of the Hive that was built into the ground; almost like a bunker. There were somewhat intact rooms that had twisted and warped bars across their entrances, signaling that this was some sort of dungeon. She kept going, finding a room that was completely intact; except for the cell bars, which had been ripped off their hinges and thrown a few feet away.

Laying there, completely unharmed by the recent Hive collapse was Screwball. Despite the purple flames blazing around her and the sparks dancing off her body, she appeared incredibly sickly. She looked so unhealthy, almost to the point that she seemed to be dead. However, Fluttershy could see her chest barely rising and falling with unsteady breathing, signaling that she was still alive.

"Oh Screwball!" Fluttershy cried, attempting to run to Screwball. The pegasus suddenly yelped and jumped back, having received a heavy static shock that caused her body to tingle all over. She couldn't get any closer to her without being shocked or burned by the flames. Seeing that she couldn't approach, she called Discord and Luna over to see if they had any such luck.

"Oh my fat Celestia," Gasped Discord. Even he couldn't get very close to Screwball without hurting himself in the process, "She looks terrible! We have to get her out of here and to that stupid flower now!" He attempted to rush through the static-filled air and the flames. Once again, he was shocked and burned by the magic that protected Screwball.

"How come she won't let us get to her?" Luna questioned.

"I told you," Discord quipped, "This type of spell is usually done involuntarily by one who is a novice in chaos magic. She can't control who she lets get to her, because the magic will keep any living thing away from her for who knows how long." He paused, "I officially hate chaos waves."

"There must be a way," Luna replied, "You are a master at chaos magic. You must be able to harness and control it much easier than Screwball, correct?"

"I can try, but this type is difficult to harness. Even for me."

"Try." Fluttershy suddenly spoke up after being silent for so long.

After the encouragement from his friend, Discord took a deep breath before placing his mismatched feet firmly against the ground. He held up both paw and claw towards his daughter, closing his eyes as his palms began to glow. To his and the mares' surprise, the purple flames were extinguished and the static subsided.

"That wasn't so hard, now was it?" Luna remarked. Her eyes widened when she saw Discord, who was now covered in sweat and breathing heavily.

"Easy for you to say, Poona." He shot back, "You're not the one doing it."

"Apologizes for being ignorant." Luna quickly replied, shifting her gaze to a changeling that was ironically caught under a statue of his own queen.

The spirit ignored Luna and quickly rushed over to his daughter, carefully picking her up and cradling her feeble body in his arms. Her unusually dull eyes slid open, showing just how dull and unhealthy they looked.

"Daddy...?" She asked in a barely audible voice. It seemed to be quite painful for her to even talk.

"Yes, I'm here now," Replied Discord in a soft voice as to not hurt her currently delicate ears, "No cheeseleg is going to hurt you now that I am here."

Screwball could only groan weakly in reply. Whatever magic that she had unleashed on the Hive had taken her remaining energy and had sped up the process of her sickness. In fact, Discord felt as though he was holding a block of ice, for her body was dead cold. He summoned up a furry blanket and laid it across the shivering filly's body, hoping to warm her up a little.

When Discord stood up and turned to his two companions, his expression was grave and serious, completely out of character for the usually jocular and nonsensical spirit of chaos.

"We need to get moving," He insisted, "_Now_."

Without another word, the three took off into the sky once again, flying as fast as their wings would allow them to.

However, they left too soon to notice the debris of the ruined changeling Hive shifting in the spot where they once stood. A large holey hoof shot up through the rubble, pushing large pieces of cement and stone off of the body it belonged to. The owner of the hoof managed to push all of the debris away, freeing herself.

Chrysalis now looked as though someone had litterally put her through the wringer. Her crooked horn was broken off, one of her wings was missing, her mane was a frizzled mess, and one of her hind legs were bent at an odd angle.

She stood up, trying to balance herself with only three good legs and one wing. Limping over to the now empty dungeon cell, the queen bared her fangs, most of which had been broken or chipped. She glanced up at her would-be captives who were now small black dots against the blue sky. She turned towards their direction, enraged snarls rumbling in her throat.

"You..." Hissed Chrysalis, "Will _pay_!"

* * *

As the three travelers soared over the countryside, the trees and forests began to melt into ice and snow. The wind howled and seemed to blow right through all of them. Discord however, was nice enough to give them all wacky-colored scarves and hats he claimed to not have knitted.

A large chain of mountains came into view. They stopped and gazed from left to right, searching for Mount Cinder. Luna spotted it first and began to lead them to it. The wind was picking up, blowing snow and ice through the air. Even after Discord gave them heavy winter coats and another set of scarves, the travelers were still unbearably cold.

They landed on a ledge near the peak of the volcano. Smoke rose out of the top as heat from the entrance blasted its way towards them, melting all the snow and ice that had gotten stuck to their fur. They took off their winter gear and quickly headed inside.

Mount Cinder was a typical volcano. The heat was sweltering, enough to make Discord hold his ice-cold daughter to his forehead (even though Fluttershy forced him to stop after a while). An unstable ledge hung over the boiling lava, which was about a couple hundred feet down. Right at the very tip of the ledge was a simple flower. It's petals were orange, fading into yellow as it got closer to the middle, mimicking the look of a blazing fire.

"That's the Phoenix Flower," Luna stated, "Careful though, that walkway doesn't look safe for walking."

"Isn't that what these are for?" Remarked Discord, stretching his mismatched wings for Luna to see.

Luna was about to argue back, but Discord immediately floated over to the flower. He bent his long body foward, careful not to touch the walkway as he reached for the flower. However, his lion's paw was greeted with a painful pinch upon doing so. He yelped and threw off what looked to be a small yellow and orange bird that had bitten Discord's paw with its sharp beak.

"What in the name of-..." The spirit began to shout. He looked down, seeing the small, chick-sized bird glaring at him with fire-orange eyes.

"It's a baby phoenix!" Fluttershy exclaimed, "Don't hurt it, Discord! It's just a baby!"

"I believe _my_ baby matters more than this baby!" Discord growled back. He bent down so that he was level with the baby phoenix, "Beat it, half-pint!"

The poor baby phoenix was thrown backwards by a simple flick from Discord's talon hand. The chick's eyes began to tear up when this happened before it gave a loud squeal that echoed through the volcano.

"_Discord_!" Cried a distressed Fluttershy, seeing what Discord had done to the phoenix.

"Quit your crying!" Commanded an already frustrated Discord, "I've had enough slow downs already, and this little chicken isn't going to get in my way!"

"But the big chicken might." Luna shot back, pointing to something behind Discord.

The spirit turned, discovering a beautiful adult female phoenix. However, he noticed that she didn't look at all happy with him. His assumptions were correct, for the phoenix suddenly blew a column of fire at the intruder. He luckily managed to move out of the way in time, but not before shouting:

"Angry momma phoenix! _Angry momma phoenix_!" He cried, attempting to fly away from the phoenix that gave chase.

"Nicely done, Discord." Luna sighed, facehoofing.

As the momma phoenix chased Discord around the volcano, blasting fire balls at him as she did, Fluttershy approached the baby phoenix that had been hurt by Discord's recent "attack". She spoke to it softly, getting it to trust her before she looked at its tiny wing. Discord's talons had raked a few feathers off and had left a scratch, but the phoenix wasn't harmed in any other way.

"Discord! You get down here now!" Fluttershy commanded in a surprisingly authoritative tone.

"Can't!" Discord called back, dodging another blast of fire from the angry momma phoenix, "Being chased by a mad blazing chicken!"

Fluttershy tried a different approach. Instead, the pegasus got the attention of the raging she-phoenix, "Um... Miss Phoenix? Can I talk to you?"

The female bird squawked angrily in reply, keeping Discord at bay by blasting flames this way and that.

"I know my friend Discord may seem like a big meanie," Fluttershy spoke in a gentle voice, "But he didn't mean to hurt your baby. He was only trying to get the flower for his child."

The phoenix turned her elegant head towards the beast that hovered a few yards away. She finally seemed to notice the pale filly laying in Discord's arms and cooed sympathetically. She still didn't seem to trust him though.

"Would it make you feel better if he healed your baby?" Fluttershy asked politely.

The phoenix seemed apalled by the answer. However, she chirped in reply before allowing Discord to get close to her and her baby. Fluttershy coaxed him away to talk to him in private.

"You have to make up for your bad deed," The pegasus began, "Please heal momma phoenix's baby and apologize to her."

"_Apologize_?" Discord asked a little too loudly, "To a fire chicken? No way!"

The she-phoenix heard this and squawked angrily. Smoke came out of her nostrils when she did.

"I don't think she'll let you get near the flower as long as her baby is playing there," Fluttershy continued, "You have to! There's no other way to get the flower!"

"Or I could just turn them into chicken sandwiches," Discord grinned evilly, "And eat them too."

"Discord you cannibal!" Cried the yellow pegasus, "You're part chicken too!"

"Correction," Argued the draconequus as he shoved his avian talon in his friend's face, "Eagle. This can grasp things and pick them up; unlike the chicken claw, which is only good for scratching at the ground. Also, eagles eat chickens, so it's not that big of a deal."

Fluttershy sighed, clearly annoyed, "Please, just help them."

Discord rolled his eyes, "I still like my idea better." He slowly shuffled towards the two phoenix, careful to make himself appear less intimadating.

Momma phoenix was still wary, and the baby phoenix was quite terrified. However, with a simple snap of Discord's fingers, the baby phoenix's wing was fixed with all new, bright and shiny orange feathers. The she-phoenix squawked happily and the baby added a cheerful peep. She thankfully nodded to Discord and Fluttershy before she picked her baby up, placed it on her back, and flew away to her nest in one corner of the volcano.

Discord sighed, "Glad that's over and done with." He looked down at Screwball, his expression suddenly becoming panicky. While Discord was battling the momma phoenix, the purple filly had stopped moving all together, even with her shivering. Her chest was barely moving, signaling that she was borderline dead.

Without warning, Discord pushed Fluttershy out of his way and rushed to the flower. He kneeled down, careful to keep Screwball level in his arms. He ripped the flower up, plucking one petal from it and putting it in the filly's mouth. She didn't chew it, she didn't swallow it. It only sat in her mouth without disappearing down her throat.

Discord became desperate. He attempted to use his magic to force the petal down Screwball's throat in hopes of getting it into her system. Still, she did not respond. Her skin and fur was nearly pure gray from the little to no blood in her body.

"No!" Cried her father, shaking her limp form back in forth in an attempt to get her to wake up, "No no _no_! You will not die on me!"

Luna and Fluttershy trotted over, seeing Discord's desperate attempts to get Screwball to swallow the petal. Both of them looked to be on the verge of tears as they watched silently from behind the father and daughter.

Trying everything his irrational mind could think of, Discord looked as though he too was about to break down and start crying. When everything he tried had failed, he put his paw to Screwball's small chest.

It wasn't moving.

Discord looked back at his two companions, eyes welling up with tears. He then did something he had not done in thousands upon thousands of years he had been alive.

He cried. It wasn't fake crocodile tears that he used to get others to feel sorry for him, but truly remorseful tears and weeping that echoed throughout the volcano. Fluttershy was the next one to break down upon seeing another crying. She buried her face into Luna's dark blue coat, quietly weeping as she did. Strong and proud Luna was not too proud to shed tears either. A couple of tears could be seen rolling down her elegant face, hitting the hot ground and sizzling away upon doing so. Even the momma and baby phoenix on the other side of the volcano seemed mournful.

For what felt like hours, Discord laid there, arms around his unmoving daughter. Tears poured from his usually mischievously glinting red and yellow eyes. No one said anything for fear that it would shatter the spirit's already fragile emotional state. Luna calmly trotted over to Discord's side, placing a hoof on his shoulder. Fluttershy followed, leaning against his side and staring sadly at the unmoving filly.

"I'm so sorry, Discord," Luna began, her voice cracked with the recent sob fest, "We did everything we could to save her. With everypony who passes, we must move on though."

"You don't seem to understand," Discord replied, his voice having a hint of rage, "Screwball is the only pony that has ever accepted me for the ugly beast I am on the outside. She is the only one who understood my neverending need of chaos and disharmony. She... She is the only creature in all of Equestria who pushed aside my looks and what I represented and just _loved_ me." He paused, "Before I was reformed, I didn't think I needed anypony but myself... That changed when I created Screwball and she loved me as her father. It felt... Good. It felt good to be loved and admired instead of feared and resented."

Luna nodded, "I know. We both learned that the hard way."

The three sat there for a moment, comforting each other and mourning the loss of the precious filly. Discord found himself pulling the two mares closer with two tails, one of which had somehow grown out over the past five seconds. Luna however, was the first to stand and take action.

"We should return to Canterlot," She said, still a little sniffly, "We shall host a funeral and let all of Equestria know that you weren't always a monster. You were capable of loving others contrary to the belief that you couldn't. You were willing to go on a dangerous quest, enter the changeling's Hive, and fight them all off just to get your child back. You were willing to give your life for Screwball. Sacrificing one's self is something very few would do, but you were willing to do it. I... I never thought I would say this, but I am proud of you, Discord."

Discord smiled a little, despite the tears running down his face, "Th-... Thank you, princess."

Luna gently helped him up, "Come. Let us go home."

They all stood and began trotting towards the exit of the volcano. Discord stopped however, gazing down at Screwball with a confused frown.

"Must be my imagination." He muttered under his breath.

"What was that?" Fluttershy asked, quietly flying over to him.

"I thought I saw her eyelids twitch," The draconequus replied, "I think the heat is messing with my head."

Luna and Fluttershy continued to walk towards the entrance. Discord stayed put and continued to stare hard at his dead daughter.

"No, I'm not imagining things!" He suddenly shouted, "Her eyelids did move again!"

Luna and Fluttershy rushed back over to Discord and examined the filly. Her father put his claw to her chest, feeling if it was moving or not. A smile grew on his face as he turned to his two companions.

"Her chest is moving!" He exclaimed. They continued to watch the purple-pink pony closely to see if there were anymore movements. Screwball moaned, the colors suddenly appearing in her again. She shifted, her eyelids slowly fluttering open to get a look at her surroundings. She unexpectedly coughed and stuck her tongue out.

"Nasty!" She hacked, "Blech!"

"She's alive!" Screamed Discord, "_She's alive_!"

Luna and Fluttershy gave a cheer while Discord held his daughter out at arm's length and spun around a couple of times. The momma phoenix and the baby phoenix in the corner also celebrated, giving happy squawks and peeps. Screwball giggled while her father spun her around before he pulled her in close and hugged her tight.

"Oh Screwball," He said, tears of joy forming in his eyes, "I was so worried. I thought I lost you forever! I... I...-"

"Daddy?" The filly interrupted.

Discord looked down at her, smiling as he did, "Yes, dear?"

"You don't have to worry anymore." She replied with a childish smile. She suddenly leapt out of her father's arms and flew around a couple times, doing loop-de-loops and corkscrews before returning to Discord's arms, "I feel great! Like I can take on the entire changeling army without breaking a sweat!"

"How did she-" Luna started to ask, confused as to how the filly could fly without wings. She decided to let it slide. Screwball _was_ the daughter of the physics-defying Discord after all.

"I'm so glad you feel better, my little one!" Discord sang happily, still refusing to let go of the purple-pink pony, "To think, what would I have done without you? Oh but now you're here! You're here in my arms, you're here and you're healthy and safe, and... And... You're here!" He squeezed her tightly, causing her to let out an adorable _squee_!

After the joyous "reunion" with her father, Screwball hugged Fluttershy and Luna, no longer afraid or hateful of them. The filly stopped to talk to Luna though.

"I heard what you said about my daddy." She whispered, sounding a little enraged.

"I'm... I'm sorry for calling him a monster." Luna quickly apologized.

Screwball smiled darkly, "Maybe I should start calling you _mommy_ by the way you keep talking so good about my daddy."

Luna blushed as red as momma phoenix's feathers.

Screwball laughed, "I'm just messing with you, silly Auntie Luna! Daddy's way out of your league anyway."

Discord chuckled under his breath, "Buuurrrrnnn..."

Before Luna realized she had been "burned" even more so than Discord's rear from the phoenix attack, Screwball rejoined her father. He lifted her into his warm embrace before turning back to his two companions with a joyous smile on his face.

"Now," He began, "Let's go home, shall we?"

They turned and began to walk towards the volcano's exit. However, upon doing so, their path was suddenly blocked by two holey hooves attempting to pull their owner up over the ledge. They backed up as the familiar sight of Queen Chrysalis heaved herself over the ledge, grunting painfully as she did. She stood, her body battered and bruised from the recent attack on her home. Clearly, she was not happy, for her green serpentine eyes glowed with a raging green fire as she glared muderously at the four escapees of her Hive.

"No one, absolutely _no one _hurts my changelings and gets away with it." Hissed Chrysalis.

* * *

**Okay, so I just kind of went out on a limb for that one little sad part. I don't do a lot of sad things in stories (even if they're just one little part) very often because I don't enjoy that kind of writing. As a writer though, I know one has to branch out their abilities and try new things.**

**What I'm getting at is... Do you believe I did a fair job with that one small sad part? I'm not exactly sure if I captured the "sad" emotion all that well, so I want to see what some of you who followed and favorited the story think. Did I do a good job on it or does it need some work? If you can, please leave some sort of feedback or tip. That would be really helpful in case I decide to put in more sad tones in my future fics. Thanks!**

**Oh, and... *plays dramatic cliffhanger music***


	10. Big Bad Changeling Gets Taught a Lesson

**Hello! Here's another chapter!**

**Guest: Sorry, but there will be no sequel to this paticular fic. I am planning on writing more stories with Discord and Screwball in the near future, whether they're just cutesy-wutesy Daddy Discord oneshots or a full blown multi-chapter fic, I will write more of Screwball and Discord.**

**Other Guest: I don't mean to come off as rude, but you do realize that this fic has nothing to do with the changelings' emotional standpoint, correct? They're just there to supply the story with conflict to make it interesting. If I gave you my honest opinion of the changelings and how I think of them, this reply would end up as a rant. Also, if you sympathize with Chrysalis... You may want to skip over this chapter.**

* * *

For a moment, the four were stunned. Fluttershy found shelter behind Luna and Screwball immediately hugged her father tighter.

Chrysalis approached, hobbling on her three useable legs. She seemed to be having a lot of issues with her own body, for she kept losing her balance every two steps and nearly face planting into the ground. She attempted to fire a beam of magic at the quad, but her horn refused to respond and sputtered out pathetically. The queen was breathing heavily, unable to catch her breath after climbing up Mount Cinder.

"I... I will destroy you!" She shouted, even though it sounded more like a weak rasp. Luna was about to attack, but Discord quickly stepped in her way.

"I got this." He said with a confident smile. He turned back to the changeling and snapped his fingers. Suddenly, something brown, sticky, and blob-like erupted from the ground around Chrysalis. It wrapped around her legs, all the way up until she was stuck halfway in the goop.

"What is this?" The changeling demanded, struggling against the brown blob, "Syrup?"

"Molasses, actually," Corrected Discord, "Syrup's too cliché. Plus, molasses are twice as sticky and almost impossible to escape from!"

"We're just going to leave her here?" Fluttershy asked timidly.

Discord seemed apalled by the question, "Heck no! I would never dream of such a thing! Why, I'm not that cruel just to leave a defenseless changeling all by herself and trapped in molasses!"

Chrysalis interrupted him, "Release me at once, beast!"

_SMACK!_

The changeling yelped, having something hit her rear and leave it stinging. She craned her neck around, discovering a large, wooden paddle floating mere inches from her backside. She seemed shocked to see it just floating there, waiting to strike again.

"Did..." The queen began, "Did you just _spank me_?"

"Yes I did," Discord replied, "Whatcha' gonna do about it?"

Chrysalis growled, blowing a piece of her mane out of her eyes. She couldn't do anything really, not with the molasses restraining her or the fact that her horn wouldn't work.

"As I was saying," Discord continued, turning back to Luna and Fluttershy, "I will release her, but not at the moment. She attempted to feast on my love for my darling daughter, and that's a big no-no in my book. Such a bad deed requires that we have some..." He paused, turning back to Chrysalis as a psychotic smile winded its way onto his face, "_Fun_..."

For a moment, Chrysalis looked terrified. She attempted to hide it, though wasn't all that great of an attempt, "I am the one who is supposed to be getting revenge! Release me!"

"That depends," Replied Discord, "Since my little girl suffered at your hooves, it's up to her as to what... Fun you'll have to endure."

Screwball suddenly climbed up onto her father's shoulder and perched there like a pirate's parrot. In a very disturbing way, she seemed to have a similar smile to Discord's on her face.

"So now it's my turn to push the big meanie changeling around?" The filly asked expectantly. She started rubbing her hooves together like a corny, 1930's cartoon villain, "I like the sound of that!"

Chrysalis growled, "I will not be made into a child's play toy! For the last time, _release me!_"

"No!" Argued Screwball, turning her nose up at the queen, "I think she needs a good ol' fashioned makeover, daddy! Can we do it? Please please please?"

Discord tapped his chin, "A makeover sounds divine! We should make sure Miss Cheeselegs here is completely unrecognizable, since she's already ugly to begin with!"

"How dare you!" Hissed Chrysalis, "I am one of the most beautiful creatures in the land! You have no right to-!"

_SMACK!_

Another hit to the hind-end for the angry changeling. Screwball giggled at thisbefore she whispered in her father's ear. Another smile crawled across his face before a flash of light enveloped Chrysalis. When it had faded, it looked as though an eighties hair band had assisted her in styling her mane.

"My hair!" She screamed, "What did you do to my hair?!"

"Look at that hair!" Laughed Discord, "Twisted Sister would be jealous!"

Screwball stared at her father, "Who?"

Discord rolled his eyes, "Nothing. What now though? We can't just leave her be until she's been taught a lesson."

"Oooh!" Screwball exclaimed, "What about a pretty pretty princess outfit?"

"Excellent idea, my dear!" Agreed her father. In another flash of light, Chrysalis was dressed in a sparkly and frilly pink dress, similar to that of Princess Peach.

"I don't think anyone would kidnap that princess." Screwball muttered, shaking her head sorrily, "Oh! What about a-?"

These two continued to put things on Chrysalis, change her coat color, her mane style, and everything else in between for a good thirty minutes. Screwball eventually ran out of ideas, so Discord commanded an army of feathers and fluffy bunnies to attack the changeling with tickle torture instead. Fluttershy was actually starting to feel sorry for Chrysalis, even if she had tried to kill them.

"Aren't they going a little overboard?" She whispered to Luna.

"I doubt they'll torment her for much longer," Replied the princess, "Even they will eventually get bored of their victim."

Discord and Screwball had actually kicked back and relaxed while the feathers and bunnies continued their evil task of tickling Chrysalis. She laughed against her will, unable to escape the torture or fight it off. Finally, after another half hour had passed, Chrysalis managed to spit out the words:

"STOP! I GIVE UP!"

"Can't hear yoooou~!" Sang Discord, putting a hand to his ear for emphasis.

"I GIVE UP!" Chrysalis screamed again, "JUST MAKE IT STOP!"

The feathers and fluffy bunnies dissppeared in a flash of light. Discord still kept the panting changeling trapped in the molasses as he calmly walked over to her. He bent down, getting right in her teary-eyed face.

"Let this be a warning," He growled, "For if you ever, ever, _ever_ come between me and my little girl again, I won't be so merciful next time. You'll possibly have to face tickle torture for a good... Erm... Thousand years?"

"No!" Chrysalis commanded, "No more! I can't take it!"

"Pinkie promise then."

Chrysalis pouted for a second before she sighed reluctantly, "I shall never come between you and your daughter again! Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye!" She smiled nervously, "Please! Please just never subject me to that horrible torture again!"

Immediately, the molasses melted into the ground, freeing Chrysalis. She immediately turned tail, flying away as best as she could with only one wing. Discord in the meantime, returned to his daughter who was still sitting on a rock while he had went to talk to Chrysalis. He picked her up, smiling as he did.

"I hope there will be no interruptions," He said in an unamused tone, "Next thing you know, that cockatrice is gonna come after us, then the Nightmare Sources, then probably that mare from the motel checkin counter. We're just an unlucky bunch, aren't we?"

Luna and Fluttershy both chuckled at Discord's statement.

"It seems that way," Luna agreed, "But we succeeded in our quest to save Screwball. Shall we return to Canterlot?"

Fluttershy nodded, "Yes. Let's go home!"

Discord appeared between them, snatching them up in a hug. Screwball was sitting on his head, but decided to also squeeze into the hug.

"And without further ado," Discord began, "Fluttershy, Luna, Screwball, and that super sexy beast Discord went home!"

In a bright flash of light, the four were gone, traveling back to Canterlot at the speed of sound.

* * *

Upon returning to Canterlot, the four travelers were greeted by Celestia and Twilight, both of whom were standing at the palace gates waiting for them.

As they approached, Celestia spoke, "I see you succeeded in your quest, Discord. Your daughter appears to be alive and well."

Screwball had fallen asleep during the teleportation and was now laying in Discord's arms, "Yup. It wasn't the easiest thing I've ever done, but at least it wasn't as difficult as Twilight's algebra lessons." He stuck his reptilian tongue out at the purple Alicorn upon saying this.

Twilight rolled her eyes, "You guys aren't hurt, are you? Earlier this morning, we felt an earthquake and saw a huge flash of light in the direction which you went."

"That was Screwball," Luna answered, "Let us say... She-"

"Kicked changeling butt!" Discord cut in.

Celestia mustered a smile and began to lead the group into the palace, "I take it that you had a small quarrel with the changelings?"

"_Small_?" Discord repeated. He scoffed, "Puh-lease. You don't know how many changelings I had to turn into cheese just to make sure my Screwball was safe."

They had come into the palace throne room. There, they talked for nearly half an hour. Fluttershy had the privilege of telling how she scared off the cockatrice and how she saved Discord from getting his powers sapped by Queen Chrysalis. Luna recounted her battle with the Nightmare Forces as well as her awkward moment of accidentally throwing a couple changelings at Discord and Screwball's tent.

Afterwards, Discord left with a still-sleeping Screwball and took her upstairs to put her to bed. Fluttershy went with Twilight while Luna stayed with her sister.

"You must have had quite a bit of fun." Celestia said with a small smile.

Luna chuckled, "It was something different. Better than playing chess with Discord over the weekend." She grew serious, "I've been meaning to ask you something when I returned..."

Celestia leaned in expectantly, "What is it, sister?"

"Perhaps I can acquaint you with Screwball." Luna said.

"I thought she despised both of us?" Celestia began, cocking an eyebrow.

"I believe I've gotten her to think differently of me. However, it is you that I worry about. If Discord is to stay at the palace, Screwball will also stay here. I want her to know that there is no reason to fear you."

Celestia seemed a little worried, "How would we ever do that?"

Luna shook her head, "I... I don't know. Unless we hand the Elements of Harmony over to her father, Screwball doesn't have a reason to trust us. Of course, it wouldn't be a good idea to have the Elements sitting right in Discord's claws. I don't entirely trust him yet."

Celestia nodded, "Agreed. But however will we get the poor child to trust us? Or at least me?"

Luna glanced down, "Maybe we should sleep on it. We'll figure something out in the morning."

With that, the two sisters retired to their rooms, an awkward silence between them.

* * *

"I take it that the trip was one heck of a ride?" Twilight began.

Fluttershy hesitated, "I guess you could say that... It wasn't that bad as long as Luna and Discord were there too."

"Well, everything is a ride with Discord." Twilight sighed.

"Yeah, you're right." Fluttershy agreed with a smile. She paused for a second, "Hey uh... There was something I meant to ask you when I came back."

"Yes?" Twilight asked expectantly.

"I think Discord did a heroic job on his quest and..." Fluttershy's voice trailed off.

"What?"

"I think we should..."

"Come again?"

"I think we should give him an award!" Fluttershy blurted out.

Twilight raised an eyebrow, "Are you suggesting we give Discord something like, the Medal of Honor? Fluttershy, it's not like he saved the world or anything."

Fluttershy gulped before her voice suddenly became firm, "You don't understand. Discord went through some of the most difficult things just to save his child. He was willing to give his life _thrice_ for Screwball. Scratch that, _ten times over _just for Screwball." Her face became very serious, "Twilight, he's not an emotionless monster that you and everypony else takes him for. When he thought Screwball was dead, he wept for her! He loves her with all his heart!"

Twilight seemed a little surprised, "Fluttershy, you know it's hard for me to get over what he did to us in the labyrinth, and what he did to all of Equestria. I find it hard to believe that-"

Fluttershy had had enough. She switched on her stare, speaking in a voice that had a deadly edge to it, "He cried, Twilight! He almost sacrificed himself, and he kept Screwball _safe_, even when it meant he had to put himself in danger. You can't just ignore that! Would Celestia have ignored you if you defeated Nightmare Moon, but you had done some considerably bad things in your past?"

Twilight paused, looking quite shocked at Fluttershy's outburst, "I... No. I guess not."

"Then Discord's deed shouldn't go unrewarded," Fluttershy said, calming down a little, "We need to give him something that will mean a lot to him. Something that will changed his judgement of you and the rest of Equestria."

Twilight didn't speak for a very long time. Eventually, she agreed reluctantly, "Fine. What should we give him?"

Fluttershy tapped her chin. She was deep in thought for a good five minutes before she turned around a looked at Twilight, her eyes lighting up with idealism.

"I have an idea." The pegasus said.

* * *

**Hopefully there will be only one more chapter that will technically be an epilogue. Yes! It's already coming to an end!**


	11. A Gift For Discord

Morning came slowly. The blazing orange sun rose steadily into the sky and slowly lit up the dark bedroom.

Discord sat by his daughter's bedside as she slept peacefully. She hadn't woke up screaming or crying from a nightmare, so he took this as a sign that the Nightmare Forces were gone. Still, he didn't want her to freak out when she woke up and start screaming for her daddy. He would probably get in trouble with the castle guards if his daughter woke them up early. Not like he cared anyway.

So Discord waited. He waited for his little girl to wake up. He had big plans for hisself and his child that included tormenting the guards, smashing a pie in Celestia's face, or terrorizing visitors to the castle by making paintings on the walls come alive and attack them. After his trip, he wanted to get back to his normal, everyday life.

Discord snapped away from his thoughts when he heard a tiny noise. He looked down to see Screwball slowly rolling over in her sleep, hugging her pillow tightly. He smiled and gently brushed his claws through her frizzy mane, causing the filly to sigh contently.

To think, he had almost lost her just yesterday. If it wasn't for Luna and Fluttershy's help, Discord wouldn't be here with his daughter, sitting by her bedside and waiting for her to awake. He was eternally grateful for his two travel companions who helped him through every thick and thin situation.

While dwelling in his thoughts, Discord hadn't realized that Screwball had grabbed onto his claw until he attempted to pull away. He glanced down, seeing the filly holding his talon hand as though it gave her eternal comfort. Another warm smile crossed his face upon seeing this.

If this was any other filly, it would have proved to be too cute for his taste and he probably would have woke them up and scared them away by now. Still, it was borderline cuteness diabetes. He never liked doing this kind of stuff because it would make him come off as a softy and a big wimp. But again, this was his only child; his pride and joy. He would always give her the best he had to offer.

Screwball suddenly stirred, yawning as she did. Her spiraling eyes opened, looking up at her smiling father.

"Hi daddy." She yawned.

"Good morning, my sweet." Her father replied gently, "Ready to have some fun?"

Screwball rolled over on her side, "Meh... Fun can wait."

"What kind of talk is that? There's always time for fun. Not-fun is... Not fun."

"Daddy, I'm really tired. Please stop talking."

Discord remembered that Screwball had to be exhausted from the trip. Her sickness had taken a ton of her energy and she had to have time to recuperate. She may have bounced back as soon as her sickness was cured, but she had crashed and was forced to rest. Screwball was half chaos lord, but she must recover like any normal pony.

"Very well." Said Discord reluctantly. He pulled the blanket up around the small filly, gently carressing her face as he did, "Sleep as long as you like. Just come get me whenever you're ready to stop having not-fun."

Screwball giggled a little, cuddling up under the covers, "Okay."

Quietly, Discord walked out of the room, taking a quick peek at his soon-to-be asleep daughter before closing the bedroom door. He didn't exactly want to wait for Screwball to start causing mischief and mayhem around the Canterlot palace, but he didn't want her to miss out on his latest pranks. He thought about taking molasses to the next level and using it to get the palace chefs and bakers' hooves stuck to their pots and pans. He also thought about flooding Celestia's room with strawberry milk that would turn her coat pink. For some odd reason, he thought it would be hilarious despite the fact that Celestia probably wouldn't look too bad with a pink coat... At least it was better than her boring white color.

Discord began walking down the hall. It was still early morning, so the only ponies awake right now were some of the morning guards and Princess Celestia, who had probably gone back to sleep after raising the sun.

_Lazy bum princess_. Discord thought to himself, passing by the princess' room. He decided to sabotage her alarm clock to go off whenever she fell back to sleep fully. He immediately heard a loud ringing noise and an angry female voice shouting dirty words at her alarm clock. The spirit smiled to himself, glad to have ruined his rival's peaceful morning.

Discord continued to trot through the palace halls, making faces at the guards who stood at each side of the hallway. Of course, they refused to acknowledge him and continued to stand there staring at the wall. He passed by a sleepy-faced Luna, who he stopped and greeted.

"Good morning, sunshine," He greeted with a light chuckle, "What a lovely mane style you have. Perhaps you should go out and start a trend, my dear!"

Luna rolled her eyes at Discord's comment about her bed head, "You are the one to talk." She quickly averted the subject, "How is little Screwball?"

"Ah... She's fine. Other than being boringly tired, she's doing quite alright."

"Give her some rest. She may be a spawn of you, but she is still just a small pony."

"I know, I know. I just wanted to get back to normal life, ya know? Like messing with a certain Princess Umad and Trollestia."

Luna was unamused, "And Screwball enjoys creating mischief and mayhem just as much as you do?"

"Of course. She is my -the great creator of all things mischievous and mayhem-filled's child after all."

Luna seemed to have grown bored of the conversation, "I wish for Screwball's recovery to go well. If you ever need to go on another _cliché_ quest, you know where to find me."

The princess chuckled before trotting away, hopefully to fix her mane. Discord remained standing there. He debated on whether to check up on Screwball again, or to get a nap after the long night of watching over his child. He decided on the nap, quickly teleporting over to his room and flopping on the bed which was currently mounted on the ceiling.

Before Discord could even close his eyes, he felt a small hoof tugging at his paw. He looked over at the tugger, discovering a familiar, daffodil-colored pegasus holding a plate of food in her hooves.

"How in the name of the fattest Alicorn did you get in here?" He questioned her, "My room is pony-proof!"

"Um..." Fluttershy began, smiling innocently as she did, "I got in with my adorableness?"

Discord rolled his eyes, "Whatever. What do you want? I'm kind of busy doing nothing here."

"I just made you some breakfast." Fluttershy explained, placing the plate of food on Discord's lap.

He stared at her, long and hard, "How are you defying gravity? My bed is on the ceiling with no gravity to keep it there, yet, you are standing on the ceiling without the aid of your wings!"

"Um..." The pegasus began.

"Never mind, never mind." Discord quickly interrupted. He looked down at his breakfast, which was a pancake with a butter smiley face, "What's this about? Are you manipulating me into taking care of your demon rat Angel again?"

"No," Fluttershy answered, seeming slightly offended by Discord's assumption, "I figured you worked really hard at saving Screwball these past few days, and I wanted to reward you for it."

"With a smiley face pancake?" Discord asked, pushing the plate away and sticking his tongue out, "It's a nice gesture, but it's not my kind of thing. I'm more of a waffle fan myself."

"Oh..." Fluttershy's eyes were clearly tearing up a little, "That's okay. Even though it took nearly an hour over a blazing hot stove to make that... It's okay if you don't like it, I'll just give it to Angel..."

Discord glared at her, "You're just a little master of all guilt trips, aren't you?"

Fluttershy blushed a little, seeing that Discord saw right through her sad, guilt-inducing plan.

"And that is why you are my friend!" The spirit suddenly cheered, snatching the yellow pegasus up in a hug, "Thank you for the pancake! My hungry tummy shall enjoy it!"

"Umm..." Fluttershy attempted to reply, currently choking from Discord's tight hold, "You're... Welcome...?"

Discord quickly released the pegasus from his pythonic hug before shoving pancake into his mouth. He talked with his mouth full and spat half-chewed pancake all over the floor, grossing Fluttershy out a little, "So... If there anyfing elf influded in fhis gift?"

Fluttershy giggled a little from Discord's "mouth full voice", "Well, that's your decision. Since you were the one who led the quest, it's up to you as to what else you want."

For a moment, Discord stroked his beard while deep in though. It was hard to imagine him doing actual, serious thinking with all the pancake crumbs on his face. His face lit up with idealism before he turned to Fluttershy, a large, very toothy and pancake crumb-filled smile crossed his face.

"Let me take over Equestria. That will make me happy."

Fluttershy was appalled, "_Discord_!"

However, she quickly realized that Discord wasn't serious when he threw his head back and began cackling to the skies. He then fell on his back, rolling off the bed and landing on the ceiling below him, all the while laughing like a madman.

"Your face...!" He snickered "Oh I could just die from laughter right now!" His paw suddenly shot to his chest, a pained look crossing his face before he let out a very loud _HNNNNG_! and falling limp. A headstone suddenly appeared at his head, reading: _Here lies Discord, who died from laughter._

"Discord?!" Fluttershy asked in a panic-striken voice. She truly sounded worried as to what had just happened. Of course, she knew it was fake when Discord began laughing again as soon as she asked the question. The headstone disappeared as Discord sat up again.

"I'm sorry, I'll get it together," He apologized quite sincerely, "I had to do that in order to see your reaction. It was called for."

"What do you really want then?" Fluttershy asked again.

Discord paused, thinking for a moment, "You know what I want? I want someplace I can create chaos without having to worry about freaking out the ponies or getting turned to stone by your prissy, order-loving pony friends."

"We only did that because you were hurting other ponies." Fluttershy answered firmly.

"Thus, why I want somewhere where I don't have to worry about that," Discord continued, "Somewhere that is completely free of ponies and other wildlife. I want somewhere that is far away from society so ponies can't lecture me on how order is better than chaos and how I should become a prissy order-lover as well. I want someplace that is ridicule-free, where I can create whatever chaos I desire without interference from ponies."

Fluttershy seemed a little worried at this request, "It sounds difficult, but I'll see what I can do. In the meantime, you get some rest, okay?"

"Offer taken." Discord replied, yawning and stretching his serpentine body, "Now let me sleep."

Fluttershy raised an unsatisfied eyebrow, causing Discord to roll his eyes.

"_Please_."

Immediately, Fluttershy left the draconequus, who soon after began snoring loud enough to shake the room.

* * *

Fluttershy approached the princesses in the throne room. She bowed before she began talking.

"Do you remember when I said I was going to give Discord a reward for completing his quest?" She asked the two sisters.

Celestia and Luna both nodded.

"Well..." Fluttershy continued, "I asked him what he would like, and he said he wanted someplace far away from society that was completely free of ponies. He wants somewhere he can spread his chaos without ridicule or the fear of hurting others."

Celestia and Luna exchanged unsure glances. Celestia was about to open her mouth, most likely to say _no_, but Luna cut her off.

"We'll be glad to find somewhere for Discord to create chaos." The night princess said with a smile.

Celestia quickly elbowed Luna in the side, "What are you doing?"

"Sister, this is the perfect time to gain Screwball's trust," Luna explained, "If you give her father somewhere to spread his chaos, I'm sure she'll think much differently of you."

Celestia thought this over, "I... Suppose you are right... Where shall this place be?"

Luna tapped her chin, "There's a very dry canyon west from here and far north of Appaloosa. No ponies live there because of the deadly conditions. Since it's completely abandoned and miles from pony society, it would be a perfect place for Discord's chaos!"

Celestia was reluctant, "I... Am not so sure, my sister. Can we trust Discord to keep his chaos in that paticular area?"

"We can always threaten him with the Elements."

This comment caused the Sun Princess to chuckle, "That is true. I don't want to come off as an overbearing tyrant towards Screwball though..."

"The canyon is huge," Luna insisted, "Discord will have plenty of room to wreak chaos. He won't need to venture outside of the boundaries. If we do this, Screwball will think very differently about royalty, and possibly Equestrians as a whole."

Celestia was silent for a few seconds, contemplating as to what to do, "Very well. We shall find this canyon and give the deed to Discord as a gift." She turned back to Fluttershy, "Does that sound fair, dear Fluttershy?"

The daffodil-colored pegasus smiled blissfully, "It does!"

Celestia turned back to Luna, "Let us go summon Discord and his daughter. We will set out to present the gift at noon."

* * *

Screwball was aroused by a gentle knocking at her bedroom door. She rose, yawning and stretching as she did.

"Come in." The filly said.

The door opened, and the sight of her father filled the doorway. He had a large smile on his face, signaling that he was in a fantastic mood.

"Time to get up, Screwy!" Cheered Discord, quickly teleporting next to her bed, "We have somewhere to be!"

Screwball immediately buried her face in her pillow, "Noooo... No more traaaaaveliiiiinng..."

Discord snatched her up anyway, despite her complaints, "Auntie Luna and Fluttershy have something very special for us. They've gotten us a gift!"

Screwball perked up, "What kind of gift?"

"I don't know, but they say it's something big," Replied the spirit with a shrug, "Apparently, it requires a bit of traveling in order to get it. Don't worry, dear, it won't be anything like going to Mount Cinder."

Screwball seemed a little less reluctant, "Oh. You don't mind if I sleep on the way there?"

"Not at all, my sweet."

"Will you wake me up when they give us the present?"

"Of course."

Screwball yawned before laying down in her father's arms, "Okay..."

Smiling to himself, Discord calmly walked into the hall where Celestia, Luna, and Fluttershy were waiting for him.

"Well what are we waiting for?" He growled, "Let's go get this gift that will probably be lame and totally anti-climactic."

Luna chuckled, "You seem to be expecting something horrible."

Discord rolled his eyes, "With you two prissy princesses, everything is horrible."

It was Celestia turn to roll her eyes, "It certainly won't be what you're expecting, Discord. You may be surprised as to what Fluttershy put together for you."

Fluttershy blushed at the mention of her name.

This made Discord even more annoyed, "Let's just get it over and done with. Should I fake happy-cry now or later?"

* * *

It only took half an hour to get to where they were going. Celestia and Luna landed on the edge of a huge canyon with Fluttershy and Discord right behind them. The canyons had to be a mile wide and many miles long. There was no way to tell exactly how large it was. It was very hot and humid, causing Discord to pull out a bottle of water; only to drink the plastic and throw the water away.

"This is your gift." Celestia said, gesturing to the canyon.

Discord raised a bushy eyebrow before replying in his usual sarcastic way, "Celestia, if you wanted me to become a real estate agent, the least you could do is give me an area that ponies will actually _buy_."

This got a chuckle out of everyone except Discord.

"That's not what this land is for," Luna explained, "This land is yours to create as much chaos as you desire."

Discord scoffed, "Yeah right. Next thing I know, you're going to crown me as the king of Equestria."

"We're serious, Discord," Fluttershy suddenly insisted, pushing past Celestia and Luna, "This entire canyon is yours to make chaos. It's your gift for being so brave and heroic!"

Discord was still skeptical, "Oh really? What are the... _Restrictions_?"

"Keep your chaos within the canyon," Celestia began, "If any pony wanders into your territory, guide them out. Do not use them as play toys. Other than that, you are free to create chaos to your heart's desire."

"All this... Just for saving my child?" Discord asked, seeming quite surprised.

"You asked Fluttershy for it," Celestia replied, "She was the one who insisted on giving you a gift, after all."

Discord glanced at Fluttershy, who suddenly blushed crimson.

"Well..." He started, "I don't know what to say, other than I'm... Practically overjoyed. You can't exactly tell because I'm keeping it all in... Y'know... I don't want to be embarrassed by it."

Luna smiled, "A thank you would by nice."

"Oh... Yeah, right," The spirit said, blushing a little as well, "Thanks."

Celestia spread her large, feathered wings, "We now leave you and your daughter to your... Chaos. All of us hope that you will enjoy it."

"I expect a cake with my name on it." Giggled Luna. Celestia however, gave her a harsh elbow in the side.

"Have fun!" Cheered Fluttershy.

And with that, the two Alicorns and one pegasus flew off, leaving Discord to himself. He was alone -except for the filly still sleeping in his arms- in the middle of nowhere. He was still stunned from the whole thing and was almost afraid to even start changing the landscape.

Instead, he decided to awaken Screwball. With a gentle poke to the filly's side, she yawned and opened her unique, spiraling eyes. She glanced around at her surrounding before Discord placed her on the ground.

"Where are we?" She asked, looking stunned at the huge canyon.

"This?" Her father replied. With a simple snap of his claw hand, the ground between the canyon walls changed into a constantly-shifting plaid, polka-dot, checkboard, and whatever other pattern that one could possibly imagine.

"It's our awaiting canvas."

* * *

**I hate to leave it at this, but I've been really lazy with this story and wanted to get the next chappy up and running before some of you started to get impatient and abandon it all together. Also, I lied about this being the last chapter. The next one will be an epilogue of sorts; probably just a cutesy-wutesy snippet of Discord and Screwball playing and probably more of Discord musing over his thankfulness, something along those lines. Hopefully _then _this story will be completed, so stay with it! Also, I apologize for the slow update. I've been caught up in writing My Little Mystery Dungeon instead of this one, so... Now you know.**


	12. Epilogue: Father-Daughter Date

***very dramatic voice* It... Is... Done...**

**First guest: I will probably write more Discord and Screwball fics in the near future. I have tons of ideas rolling around in my head that I just have to get onto the paper, but I have yet to do so. *shrugs***

**Second guest and titanicdragon: Don't get me wrong. I love Fluttercord for it's fluffy adorableness, but when people make Screwball's mom Fluttershy... It just kinda ruins the whole "Daddy Discord" thing. I've never like Screwball having a mother before (not even Screwloose). I much prefer it being just Screwy and her daddy instead of having a mother involved. Plus, there's way too many fics with Fluttershy as Screwball's mother. Whenever I see a fic with Screwball nowadays, Fluttershy is always married to Discord and Screwy is the child. Maybe I'm just frustrated with this and want to see some creativity, but it's just... I don't know. Excuse me if I sound like I'm ranting, but that's my honest opinion of why I never give Screwy a mother. Also, if anything, this fic is more Lunacord than Fluttercord... *shrugs again***

* * *

After he had been presented with the cayon, Discord wasted no time making adjustments to his new land. Every idea he had to keep bottled up could now be unleash without the worry of being turned to stone again. Just to make sure he held up his end of the deal, he placed a huge, pony-and-animal-proof force field that would keep any curious ponies or animals out of the canyon. After all, if someone did wander into his chaos canyon, he would be too tempted to mess with them and would probably end up losing the privilege all together.

From flying penguins and swimming chickens to sumo wrestlers made out of waffles and exploding pies, Discord was pretty overjoyed that he could finally make all this chaos he had to hold back for what felt like forever. Little Screwball however, was ecstatic. She hadn't seen chaos like this since her father first took over Equestria. She gave her father ideas to add to the wacky landscape that was growing and expanding into the deeper parts of the canyon.

After Discord had completely altered the cayon, Screwball suggested playing games in the candy cane trees. One of her favorites was "Tickle Tag", basically tag, but when someone was tagged, they had to suffer through five minutes of tickles. Despite being nearly a thousand years old, Screwball hadn't figured out that her father was -ironically- not ticklish. Therefore, it was usually only Screwball who received tickle torture. Fortunately, Discord usually pretended to be ticklish and laughed when Screwball tagged him anyway.

They then moved on to hide n' seek. The only difference was that the pony (or draconequus) that was found had to give the other a piece of candy for finding them. If they couldn't present a piece of candy, they had to wear a pretty princess outfit until someone else couldn't give candy.

They played until the sun set. Eventually, while playing their version of hide n' seek, Discord found Screwball -who was still in the princess consume- nearly asleep in a pile of gummy bears. Sensing that she was quite tired, Discord picked the filly up and snapped the princess costume away.

"Is somepony all tuckered out?" He teased.

Screwball stifled a yawn, "No... I wanna play more!"

"Well I'm sorry, dear," Her father replied, "But it's getting late. Even I'm a little tired from using my magic so much."

"But..." The little purple-pink filly yawned widely, "I'm not tired..."

Screwball's adorable resistance to sleep got a chuckle out of Discord. Despite her complaints, he teleported to a non-sticky cotton candy cloud that was floating high over the canyon. He decided that this cloud would serve as his and Screwball's bed for the night. Sleeping in flat, motel beds, and on the hard forest floor had taken it's toll on Discord's old bones. He may have been immortal, but that didn't mean he never felt like his bones were rusty pieces of metal rubbing against each other. In fact, as he laid down next to his daughter, his joints literally creaked like an old machine.

"Well..." The spirit commented on his joints' weird noise, "That was unexpected."

Screwball giggled, "That just means your really old, daddy. I think Celestia's bones do that too, except she always pretends not to hear them."

"Gee, thanks." Her father replied sarcastically, "Aren't you supposed to be sleeping?"

Screwball's eyes suddenly became shifty as she backed up to the edge of the cloud, "No."

"I think you are..."

Screwball attempted to fly away, but Discord caught her before she could. The filly giggled insanely before her father put her back on the cloud and pulled a piece of cotton candy over her to keep her from flying away.

"You sleep," He commanded with a slight, jocular smile, "I know sleeping is boring, but do you want to be tired for tomorrow when we make even more chaos?"

Screwball's struggling under the cotton candy became weaker, "Fine. But I want you to make a lake made out of strawberry jello tomorrow!"

"Will do, my dear," Promised Discord, "Now sleep. We've got a big day ahead of us."

As the filly yawned and gave into sleep, her father looked out over everything he had created. Little Screwball was happier than she ever had been before when she found out that he could make chaos again; probably close to rivaling when she first found out that he was free again.

Discord himself was a pretty happy camper, not just because he had saved his precious daughter's life, but had also gotten something else with it. He still couldn't believe that Fluttershy had convinced Celestia to give him this; considering that Celestia was almost as stubborn as he was. As the moon rose into the sky, Discord suddenly realized who had helped him gain this gift besides Fluttershy.

_Luna_, he thought, _Why didn't I think of this before? Of course Luna would vouche for me and argue with her prissy sister just for me. I always did have that effect on ladies like her before._

Truth be told, Discord couldn't even begin to tell how thankful he was for Luna and Fluttershy. He felt guilty for not really giving them anything in return... Maybe he could relieve them both of his pranks for a week? Two weeks? Yeah, that sounded good.

Discord snapped away from his thoughts when Screwball shifted a little next to him. He smiled and curled his body around her protectively. Still, he could not believe that she had almost died just yesterday. He was more gracious than ever that his daughter had been spared from death and that he could keep the one who truly loved him close to him. Truth be told, he couldn't even begin to express his gratitude that Screwball had been allowed to live. He was just... Happy.

As Discord watched the moon rise higher into the sky, an owl flew by and gave a gentle hoot. Both these things reminded him of the two companions that had helped him through everything and had supported him. Closing his eyes, he gently muttered two simple words under his breath.

"_Thank you..._"

* * *

**I hope you enjoyed. Thanks for the reviews/favorites/follows along the way! It was really fun writing this fic and seeing everyone's reviews!**

**Until next time...**

**_-Delusional Potato._**


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